Senedd Walkout: Plaid Cymru, Labour, and Greens Exit Over Reform MS’s Racist Remarks
Members of the Senedd from Plaid Cymru, Labour, and the Welsh Green Party staged a walkout during a speech by Reform MS Joe Martin on Wednesday. The unprecedented departure occurred after Martin suggested Welsh students were illiterate and claimed Indian nurses were displacing Welsh nationals from employment.
This incident marked the second consecutive day Martin had drawn condemnation. On Tuesday, Plaid Cymru accused him of "racism" following a speech where he claimed attacks from Sudanese asylum seekers were "inevitable."
Senedd Presiding Officer Addresses Conduct
Presiding Officer Huw Irranca-Davies issued a rebuke to Martin for his Wednesday remarks. However, sources within Plaid Cymru indicated dissatisfaction with Irranca-Davies' initial response to Martin’s comments on Tuesday regarding asylum seekers, suggesting a firmer stance was required sooner.
Reform’s Jason O'Connell criticised the walkout as "shameful." Earlier, Reform's chief whip defended Martin's Tuesday speech, instructing political rivals to "get used to it."
During a debate on international spending, Martin mocked various expenditure examples, including funding for tree planting in Uganda. He then claimed that Welsh students, educated within an "underfunded education system," were unable to read, adding that recruiting nurses from India meant Welsh individuals could remain on Universal Credit.
Plaid Cymru’s Caerdydd Fynnon Taf MS Zaynub Akbar initiated the walkout, stating, "I'm going to leave this because I don't accept any of this and I don't want to be a part of it." She was joined by most Plaid Cymru MSs present, alongside Labour’s Mike Hedges and Welsh Green Party leader Anthony Slaughter.
Dafydd Trystan Davies, the Minister for the Constitution, commented that the debate had, at points, descended "to the level of a public house."
On Tuesday, Martin had raised concerns about attacks involving Sudanese asylum seekers, referencing incidents in Belfast and the murder of Rhiannon Whyte. He questioned the First Minister on measures to prevent future "inevitable" attacks in Wales.
Plaid Cymru’s Minister for Government Business, Heledd Fychan, formally complained to the Presiding Officer, labelling Martin’s remarks as "dangerous and derogatory" and asserting they "brought the Senedd into disrepute." Fychan demanded an urgent ruling on what she considered a "serious and clear breach of Standing Orders."
