‘I’M THINKING IN WELSH AGAIN’
Anglesey-born Yorkshire MP defends Wales ministerial appointment
A YORKSHIRE MP appointed to be the new Minister for Wales has said being originally from Anglesey qualifies him for the job.
Stuart Andrew, who represents Pudsey in Yorkshire, was appointed government minister for Wales in this month’s re-shuffle
Political opponents said he couldn’t do the job while representing a constituency outside of the country, saying the appointment showed Wales was an “afterthought” in Westminster.
But Mr Andrew, who was born and raised in Anglesey, said being Welsh qualified him for the role.
Speaking in St Asaph, where he was meeting council leaders to discuss the North Wales Growth Deal, he said: “I have an extensive Welsh background. I grew up in Anglesey, I went to school there, I speak Welsh and I’m getting back up to speed eed now and I have a deep knowl- nowledge of both northeast ast and northwest st Wales. So I’m going to put all that knowledge and enthusiasm to do the job as well as I can.”
Mr Andrew, who attended Ysgol David Hughes, in n Menai Bridge, said that hat he had been a fluent Welsh speaker and, since i tk taking on his new job, he had started to think in the language again.
He said: “I miss the people and I miss the beautiful scenery. One thing that excites me about this job is that I can keep coming back on a regular basis. “My Welsh is getting better again, I us used to be very fluent, I would w speak it on a daily da basis but, in the last 20 years, I have h not had much m need to. I am. practising, I can’t wait to get it up to a fluent standard again. “I have started to think in Welsh again. ag Any phrase that comes up I think what is the Welsh way of delivering d li i that. In fact, only this week I was at a reception in Parliament where I delivered a message in Welsh to the people there. I am getting more and more confident as each hour goes by.”
He added that constituency issues would not get in the way of him working for Wales.
Liz Saville Roberts, MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, slammed the appointment.
She said: “I was born and raised in London but I now live in Wales and represent the place I live. I know who I’m answerable to – my constituents first and foremost. Who is he answerable to?
“It is telling that, despite having eight MPs in Wales, they have either all been considered by their London bosses to be unfit for their jobs or they themselves have no interest in doing the job of protecting Wales’s interests. As always, Wales is an afterthought for the Westminster parties.”.