Uncategorized – Page 4 – Plaid Cymru – Gorllewin y Fro

80B119D5-FE31-4929-81C4-7A9737441E5E Sir, it comes as no surprise that Alun Cairns wouldn’t vote for Welsh Independence after all he’s made a career out of selling the people who live in Wales short.

As Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns has failed to deliver on any major investment or infrastructure including failing on Tory promises to deliver Swansea Bay tidal lagoon and full electrification of the railways as well as failing to deliver Wylfar, whilst at the same time consistently voting against projects that would benefit the people of Wales.

A few weeks ago Alun Cairns voted, yet again, against devolving air passenger duty to the Senedd because it would disadvantage Bristol Airport. The Secretary of State for Wales putting jobs and wages in England above those of people who live in Wales. It’s no wonder his own colleague and Conservative MP David Davies suggested Alun Cairns should rename the Welsh Office “The England and Welsh Office”.

In his article Mr Cairns dismissively states that the rise in support for Welsh Independence is from “The same people highlighting what they have believed in for years” however I can personally assure him that that’s far from the case, support from independence now comes from a broad cross section of people, countless new to the idea but who see it as the only way to secure a better future for the generations to come.

In many ways, having been born and brought up in Cardiff in the 60’s, to non Welsh speaking, proudly Welsh proudly British parents and having spent 8 years living and working in the North East of England where my own sense of Welsh/Britishness was reinforced I should be the last person attracted to Independence.

But returning to Wales some 10 years ago, from my time in England, it was abundantly clear how little Westminster, no matter who was in power, cares about the people who live in Wales. There’s no doubt that some regions in England, the North East for example, share similar problems to Wales but the response from Westminster is far from similar.

Open any map of The UK and compare the rail, motorway and duel carriageway networks in the NE, NW and Midlands with those in Wales and it aptly demonstrates the inequity of Westminster investment.

Not long ago Alun Cairns proudly announced that the Westminster Government was “giving” Wales £56m to develop Cardiff and Swansea railway stations but compare that with the spending on the redevelopment of Reading railway station, close to £900m despite the fact that Reading has a population one third less than Cardiff.

And recently when Teresa May attempted to push her Brexit deal through parliament, having bought off the DUP with extra money for Northern Ireland she sought to secure votes of Labour MPs with additional funding post Brexit. All told 100 constituencies were targeted and all 100 were in England, when it comes to Westminster people who live in Wales are not even worth offering Dane Gelt, not even worth bribing.

If being “Better off in the union” leaves 240 000 children in Wales living in relative child poverty (UN figures) then I’d far rather take my chances outside along with the sixty six other countries, many smaller than Wales, who have gained their independence from The UK since 1940, after all not one of those sixty six have asked to come back which rather says it all, doesn’t it?