Does Secretary Of State Alun Cairns Like Wales?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Yes I know this sounds odd. After all Political slimeball and blog villain Alun Cairns is the Secretary of State for Wales and he speaks Welsh far better than I do (also as I've explained previously he doesn't like me either blocking me on Twitter. A fact that I consider a badge of honour).

Still.....

I mentioned last year that he had changed the logo for the his ministry taking out any "Welsh" symbol. He had it appeared wished to kill the dragon.

But this has now gone further. In his speech to the Conservative Party Conference last Monday (something I've only discovered today) he was speaking about the forthcoming abolition of the Severn Bridge Tolls and said that it "brings the opportunity to bind the south west and south Wales ever closer together".

"Bind"? Why does the Secretary of State want to "bind" two separate countries? Is it that he seeks the submission of a separate national identity for an economic purpose? South Wales is not England. It is Wales. The job of a Secretary of State for Wales is to fight for the Welsh interest rather than London's cheerleader. He is not there to support the South West of England.

The toll was a tax on Wales not the South West of England. What he should do is to attract businesses to Wales based on the opportunities the abolition of the toll gives it. But no. He seems to consider South Wales to be equal to a region of England and should be promoted together.

This actually gets worse. He continued by saying that the abolition would also help develop Bristol, Cardiff and Newport to becoming "on the western side of the UK a new powerhouse".

What? He is Secretary of State for Wales. He should be fighting for a Welsh powerhouse not a Western one. The absence of Wales in that statement I'd argue would show his instinctive dislike for Cymru as an entity in its own right.

Also you will note that this "Western Powerhouse"doesn't include anything west of Cardiff. Not surprising given that unlike the North of England it's being denied the electrification of trains. Hardly a powerhouse then when the Conservative party literally denies it power given to England.

In his speech he also accused First Secretary Carwyn Jones of being obsessed with power and standing "shoulder to shoulder" with EU negotiator Michel Barnier (Alun Cairns would never do that. He's so small it's probably shoulder to hip). Regular readers of this blog will know that my response to that is "if only". You see pictures of Carwyn Jones with Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon. He is much taller than her. But it's she you look at. Because she has stature.

This gradual dissolution of a Welsh identity is something that needs to be monitored constantly. If London's pro consul apparently seems to be not acting for the place he is supposed to be representing then it needs to be countered by everybody living in Wales.

Until the next time.