I’ll read the detail of Keir Starmer’s new EU deal before commenting further. However, it’s worth remembering this. The people of Wales voted to leave the European Union. Despite this, I was one of just a handful of Senedd members at the time who backed a Brexit vote.
In the aftermath, Labour, Plaid Cymru separatist and Liberal Democrat politicians frequently stood up in the Senedd, decrying the referendum result, completely ignoring that their constituents, like most people in Wales, voted to leave. They backed attempts to overturn the result, thinking they knew better than their constituents.
In the weeks leading up to the vote, I took part in an event in Caerphilly, near the famous Tommy Cooper statue. Passers by wished us well. Cars sounded their horns in support.
This is not traditional Conservative territory. It’s a long time Labour stronghold, but one in which Plaid Cymru separatists have long tried to compete. The contempt in which those parties held people in places like Caerphilly who voted to leave is shameful.
Disconnect between politicians and the public is nothing new. But the Senedd takes it to a new level. We see the disconnect not just on Brexit, but in many other policy areas too. Just last week, Labour and Plaid Cymru separatist Senedd members got up and spoke about immigration, expressing views completely out of touch with the majority in Wales.
The reason I link this back to Brexit is because it is a symptom, not a cause, of changes in people’s voting habits.
Many people felt, and continue to feel, unrepresented. They don’t feel listened to. They feel the political class works for itself, not for them. The way Labour, Plaid Cymru separatist and Liberal Democrat politicians imposed 20mph speed limits on Wales is another example. Those parties clubbed together to vote it through, ignoring the wishes of the Welsh people, in exactly the same way they created 36 new Senedd members.
After 26 years of devolution, we can’t go on like this. Things need to change.