Hunting for the 'Anti-Welsh'

Huw Lewis is absolutely correct in his assertion today that accusations of being 'anti-Welsh' amount to the sort of unacceptable smear that closes down debate. It is the sort of tactic that Plaid Cymru have been fond of using though members of all parties have also indulged in similar accusations of one sort or the other in an attempt to gain political advantage.

If there is one thing that the developing consensus in the Welsh Assembly has established it is that all parties represented in it are commited to the devolution project in one form or another. Some are more divided than others on how that project should proceed, others have different views of the outcomes that they wish to see from the process, but all have the best interest of Wales at heart.

The use of such phrases consistently moves debate onto a nationalist agenda. The implication is that because somebody opposes a particular policy or does not want to go as far as others in implementing reform then they are acting against the Welsh interest. What they may or may not want to do will have merits and demerits and it is possible that some will take the view that their proposals will do damage to a particular community or communities but that should not call into question their patriotism. At least not without good cause.

Re-reading the reports of Rhodri Morgan's chapter in the Institute of Welsh Affairs book, I did not get the impression that he was saying Labour lost votes because they were seen as anti-Welsh but that they had not embraced the Welsh language agenda sufficiently to either attract or retain support in parts of Wales. He also pointed out the way that the Labour Party has effectively marginalised itself as a party of the valleys by refusing to sufficiently embrace change.

My view is that Labour lost votes in West and Mid Wales because of the way they were pursuing reform of the health service. They failed to listen to people's concerns and did not respond to the widespread belief that the proposed changes would lead to a worse service. In effect voters did not buy their claims that there was an arms-length relationship between the health bodies who wanted to close hospitals and the Labour Government. They were right not to do so as post-election events have demonstrated.

There are lessons for all of us in how we engage with communities and how we shape and reform services so as to retain confidence in them. In this context though we should learn to focus the debate on the issues and not indulge in the personalised accusations of the sort Huw Lewis protests about. If we fail to do that then we devalue politics and the political process.