Shadow Welsh secretary Mims Davies has said that despite all the talk about making a difference for the people of Wales, tangible change is still not forthcoming, and that hardly a week passes without another serious scandal engulfing political life in Wales.
Education and sport concerns
The recent PISA results show Welsh pupils' reading and maths performances have sunk like a stone, with Wales sat at the bottom of the UK table. Reading, writing and numeracy are not optional extras for students, but basic skills children urgently need to manage money, understand percentages, write an email and navigate modern life, she said.
There are also deeply concerning questions emerging about the information being requested from children taking part in sport. The Wales Women's Rights Network is warning that some children, aged seven to 11, are being asked to declare their sexuality when signing up to play netball. Parents should be able to expect their children's registration to focus on participation, enjoyment and learning new skills, not questions that appear to have no bearing on a child's ability to play sport, Davies added.
Political failures and NHS scrutiny
Davies also criticised Reform, saying it has hardly offered the credible change it claimed it would in the ridiculously large new looking Senedd. Its leader in the Senedd has now resigned after being arrested, following on from his predecessor being jailed for taking bribes from the Russian state.
These failures matter because they are not confined to schools, sport or political parties; they are affecting almost every aspect of people's lives, including the NHS. After being re-appointed the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales by Kemi Badenoch, Davies used her first Wales Questions session with the UK Government's new Secretary of State for Wales, Stephen Kinnock MP, to put the scandal-hit Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board under the spotlight.
An investigation in 2024 identified 28 Prevention of Future Deaths reports relating to the North Wales health board over just a 16-month period. David Jones, who lives in North Wales, lost both his mother and wife while they were under the board's care, and is desperate for answers and closure.
Call for action and future prospects
In 2024, the last Conservative UK Government called on the last Labour Welsh Government - which runs the health service in Wales - to launch an urgent inquiry into these tragedies. Davies said it beggars belief that two years later those calls have hit a wall of silence. She has repeatedly urged two successive secretaries of state for Wales to use their powers, under the Inquiries Act (2005), to ensure that the matter is properly investigated.
Davies was staggered when the new secretary of state for Wales said bold as brass in the House of Commons that he would not act, despite having considerable experience of health policy as a former health minister in England. The role of the Welsh secretary is to stand up for the people of Wales, not to take the easy option and turn away when families are desperately seeking answers and justice, she said.
Davies said that for decades, numerous Labour Welsh Governments promised improvement. Plaid Cymru now has responsibility for running all devolved services in Wales and must be judged by what it does next. Yet First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth appears focused on attending independence rallies, despite promising before the Senedd election that independence would not be a priority. Reform has descended into infighting and scandal, and Labour, having taken Wales for granted for decades, is a spent force.
The people of Wales have been let down by successive Labour and Plaid Cymru-led administrations, Davies said. They deserve a government that puts education, opportunity and their future first. Only the Conservative and Unionist Party under the leadership of Kemi Badenoch can deliver that change, with Senedd Leader Darren Millar having a credible plan to finally get Wales moving again.
