Jo Stevens is 'most anti-devolution Labour Welsh Secretary since George Thomas' says Lee Waters

Glad this is being stated explicitly now, it's been an open secret that the Welsh secretary has disdain for Welsh devo. Welsh Labour needs to break away from English Labour if they want to survive. Start up that judicial review to show they're serious.

Solution; move the Senedd away from the influence of Desolation Bay and set up shop overlooking the Straits...

Politicians respond to the will of the people. I originally supported the concept of the new net zero trial site in Wales www.gcre.wales Westminister wants Wales to fund a site to trial equipment for high speed trains, yet will not give Wales funding for a high speed network. The project lead has left, the Welsh government has put in funding, but Network Rail has no involvement in the project - compounded by no mention of the project in last years Industrial Strategy. We need a different way of thinking. TfW has created a new supply-chain in Newport with Spains CAF to build trains. What else could that facility build to create more well-paid roles in Newport? Net Zero is key to reduce the operating cost of the economy. I do not believe that Wales has a manufacturer of heat pumps, could the CAF facility in Newport produce heat pumps to be used on Welsh Government funded projects?

I think she has single handedly destroyed labour in Wales. Hope PC rise up for Wales and push Wales upwards and onwards.

Jo Stevens is only the latest in a long line of Labour politicians to take this view, and the only way we will change it is at the ballot box, make this type of thinking extinct. It is about time Cymru was put first, by politicians elected in Cymru.

Sec of State George Thomas was the one who decided to confiscate £150,000 (1966 prices) from the Aberfan relief fund and use it to clear the tips above the school after the disaster rather than it be spent on the families and burials. His grave in Trealaw Cemetery is regularly urinated upon.

She is not TWO FACED SHE HAS MORE FACES THAN BIG BEN

I've heard Lee Waters make this same observation, from memory, no less than three times in the series of discussions on Welsh politics which he has with Professor Laura McAllister of Cardiff University's Wales Governance Centre and the Conservative commentator Lauren McEvatt on Apple's Welsh Politics Pod.

I agree with Lee Waters' statement that "Wales needs and deserves to be treated as an equal part of the UK...." What does this mean? In my view the only rational interpretation of this is that devolution for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should be standardised to that of the country with most advanced devolution settlement - Scotland. This is clearly also the only sensible arrangement for the 3 countries.

Diolch Martin Shipton! It’s so helpful & morale boosting to read such well reasoned & researched political journalism. At last we are fighting back and negative, destructive, imperialist propaganda is meeting reasoned thoughtful positive resistance. We are not too poor as politicos & compradors like Stevens are exposed & countered.

This isn't a union vs devolution debate, it's a centralism vs decentralisation debate. The USA is a union yet their 50 states have a level of autonomy we can only dream of. It's the reason they are the most successful economy in human history. It's perfectly possible to be a unionist that supports devomax in all parts of the UK as a proven route to greater success for the whole union. You have to wonder what kind of unionist doesn't want greater success for the whole union.

Lee Waters and others in Welsh Labour are right. Jo Stevens is a toxic individual whose done great harm to the opportunities that Wales have to become a proud nation and in the process she has become the best recruiting Sergeant for progressive left parties in Wales especially Plaid Cymru. She is past her sell by date.

This George Thomas? https://www.itv.com/news/wales/story/2014-07-19/police-probe-into-lord-tonypandy-child-abuse-claim/ Vile man.

She is a complete waste of taxpayers' money. What purpose does she serve apart from blocking anything Cymru needs? Perhaps she should inform us of any positive plans she has for the country.

Apart from the economy wooden spoon being handed to the North East of England which rejected devolution because Dom told them to. Apart from that.

Once your supreme overload and righteous leader condemns and apologises for his despicable antisemitic and horrible racist comments and then resigns , we can discuss the merits of devolution. Until then.... .

The 20mph speed limit has reduced insurance premiums for everyone in Wales so well done and a big thank you to Lee Waters for setting this up. In these difficult cosy of living times, we need this savings. And we have safer roads now thanks to him.

Wales did not have a doctors strike, we have free prescriptions and we will get better once crown estates is devolved and with independence, we can lock in more of our energy production profits for the benefit of the good Welsh folk.

The FTSE through the roof is not necessarily "good for business". It's just good for those City institutions that trade in stocks and shares. Some distance from the real world of making things, providing services, buying and selling, earning a living.

Devolution is not the problem, the problem is the Welsh Labour Government. What we should be asking is 'what has Labour actually achieved in 25 years'? You know the very party which Jo Stevens herself is a member of. If the people of Wales don't like their policies then they can vote them out in May, which is looking increasingly likely to happen.

It is important that a strong voice for Wales is the outcome of the Senedd elections. It would be ironic if dislike of Jo Stevens and the craven and lickspittle attitude of the current Welsh government resulted in their replacement by an administration run by a private company, Reform Ltd., owned by a man with even less interest in improving the lives of the people of Wales. Can you imagine a Reform government at both ends of the M4?

An understanding of economics not really your strong point, is it?

A comparison with George Thomas says so much about the incumbent, but it's a very fair one. She shows no interest in Wales whatsoever, apart from turning up at occasional events to tell us how well she is doing. But nothing has happened - even the small nuclear reactor planned for Anglesey is still some way off from work even starting - there is no guarantee that it will get started. The only time she seems to mention Wales is when she attacks Plaid Cymru for being nationalist. She refuses to contemplate any further devolution or modify the Barnett formula, which has been abysmal for Wales. I am old enough to remember George Thomas, and the level of opprobrium directed towards him was such that pubs named after him were renamed after it was disclosed that he tried to prevent families of the Aberfan disaster from getting what they were due following the settlement with the coal industry.

The sooner the likes of Jo Stevens have no influence whatsoever in Cymru’s future the better as far as I’m concerned

I always try to be respectful to politicians, but I'm afraid to say jo Stephens is a symptom of the Corbyn leadership- it hollowed out the talent pipeline in Welsh labour. There wasn't an obvious alternative when forming the shadow cabinet. However, it's obvious she is out of sync with many labour MS, councillors and even MPs, so she can't be the voice of Wales in the cabinet- so she should be moved on at the next reshuffle.

It would make more sense if the SoS post holders has to be confirmed by the devolved administrations.