Rhun ap Iorwerth had some feisty things to say on climate change and Nigel Farage
Rhun ap Iorwerth MS gives his first speech as First Minister at the Plaid Cymru conference in Llandudno.(Image: Peter Byrne/PA)
First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth had some punchy things to say about climate change, funding for Wales and Nigel Farage in his speech to the Plaid Cymru party conference.
The Ynys Mon MS’s speech in Llandudno is the first time a Plaid First Minister has addressed the party’s conference as the leader of the nation and he told the adoring hall that it was a “special privilege” that had been achieved through all their efforts and the work of those party members before them.
Describing the morning the Senedd election result became clear in May this year, he said: “It became clear that being the party for the whole of Wales was no longer just something we had always strived to be, but something we had truly become. History was made, and it happened through all of us standing together.
“Together, we told a story built on the efforts of the giants and generations that went before us – the story of a more ambitious Wales, a fairer Wales, a more prosperous Wales, and a Wales more united than ever.”
Here are five key points from the First Minister’s speech
He peppered his speech with references spanning Wales
First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth MS has travelled widely in his first few months. He sprinkled his speech with summaries of visits to the Royal Welsh Show in Llanelwedd, the Phoenix Centre community hub in Town Hill in Swansea, which offers exercise sessions and bereavement counselling, Cardiff and Vale College, where he was grateful to a talented chef for helping him make a flambe without setting his tie on fire, and to Beach House day nursery in Rhyl this morning.
He thanked firefighters
He also thanked firefighters for tackling flames on the Sychnant Pass in Conwy – a few miles from Venue Cymru in Llandudno – in July. Some worked in a 30C heatwave before they even reached the flames, he said. But unlike climate change denier Donald Trump he warned of the importance of boosting “resilience” for future extreme weather. He has convened a summit for fire services and other agencies this month over the issue, he said.
He said Wales is owed billions
On transport Mr ap Iorwerth claimed “billions” of pounds are owed to Wales to boost its infrastructure because of the “injustice of HS2”. There was no mention of a new third crossing between Anglesey and Gwynedd over the Menai Strait. But Ynys Mon MP Llinos Medi told WalesOnline in the foyer that Mr ap Iorwerth is already making a difference: “If you just look at the Menai crossing alone, the conversations we’ve had have reflected the vulnerability and the resilience issues.
“The conversations around funding and the model of maintenance are in a good place now. To start off with it’s just recognising the vulnerability. With the last (Welsh Labour) Government (it) felt we were only complaining when we were actually being cut off from the mainland. The European route, the Port of Holyhead, economically, it’s an important route.”
He was enjoying the rhetoric
The First Minister has a sparkling turn of phrase. After Plaid’s historic election in May “the lights of that new dawn eventually shone dazzingly bright (and) it became clear that being the party for the whole of Wales was no longer just something we had strived to be but something we had truly become.”
It wasn’t the end of a campaign but the “beginning of our work to give flight to a nation whose wings have been clipped for far too long.”
Indeed respect, he insisted, needed to be shown to Wales by Prime Minister Andy Burnham as well as vice versa. Otherwise “it matters little whether who lives in 10 Downing Street is an Evertonian or an Old Etonian.”
He has nothing kind to say about Reform
Rhun ap Iorwerth is vehemently opposed to Reform and he intends to keep them at bay. He was “sickened” by Nigel Farage’s apparent “foot soldiers” such as the masked men in recent protests in Portsmouth and Dover. He also slammed Reform’s “crypto billionaire” backers.
He sneered: “They can buy you all the turquoise ties and turquoise T-shirts in the world but Wales is not for sale. You have the pounds but it’s people that matter. Our formidable group of 44 (Members of the Senedd) has spoken up for the voiceless, for tolerance, kindness and compassion.” They do “not see a stranger as an enemy”, said the First Minister.
