Sneering attacks on devolution in the British press just gives Drakeford a free pass from more constructive criticism

I disagree, sometimes strongly, with most of the restrictions Wales has introduced in the last 10 days or so. I think they're harming business and communities without really doing anything substantial to stop the spread of the virus. I live in Wales so I'm entitled to my opinion. Others in Wales may disagree & that's fine. Frankly people in other countries, whether they like Wales' restrictions or not, should just leave us alone. Your contributions are unhelpful.

Well said. The issue is with who is in government in Wales, and not how Wales is governed. Blaming devolution as a whole and not the Welsh Labour Government actually gets Labour off the hook. Ann Clwyd did this on ITV's Sharp End a few years back. Blamed the state of the Welsh NHS on the 'Assembly' whilst conveniently ignoring the fact that it was her party was in power. I too am critical of further restrictions. Omnicron symptoms appear to be mild, and everyone by now has had the opportunity to get themselves vaccinated. Whilst I appreciate that some people are not able to do so for medical reasons, it is unfair to impose restrictions on the lives of everyone else simply because others refuse to get it. At what point do we say enough is enough, are we going to continue to live like this well into 2022/2023/24? So much for the 'roaring 20s'. How do they intend to stop people crossing the border to the pubs and clubs of Bristol or Liverpool on New Years Eve? How are the police going to crack down on the numerous illegal raves across Wales which will be inevitable on Friday night? Whilst the Welsh hospitality industry falls too its knees. I'm sorry for my rant, but I cannot be the only one who feels like this. My criticism however is targeted at the Welsh Labour Government and not the Senedd.(even though many other governments should share the blame). But I do fear that this could not only give the Tories an underserved boost, but also play into the hands of the anti-devolutionists.

Have we reached the Rubicon yet?

The 'arguments' they make are, in their essence, unchanged from those made by people holding similar positions in previous years (and centuries). They are of a fundamentally racist character. They quite literally see Welsh people as lesser beings. Or, as one resident of Abersoch put it, 'vermin'. These views are easily explained, but they remain racist. I dislike it intensely but, in the current context, I welcome it. They need to do more of it. It clears the decks for the independence fight to come.

The Tory press are blatantly attacking the Senedd because they are cheerleaders of both Brexit and the Conservative party who have always been hostile towards Wales and Welsh devolution. And as highlighted recently by Nation Cymru. The Tory supporting Telegraph did a piece ridiculing the Welsh Government as "woke" when their policy was basically copy & paste of Conservative Government guidelines. And sure, the pandemic has masked both Welsh & Conservative Government handling of Covid and the wider economy, especially the hypocritical Tories, who have used Covid to their advantage to hide the wanton damage done by Brexit., who also have slyly utilised the pandemic to pass bills through Westminster that not only strips Wales of Senedd powers and interferes with devolution but affect our human rights also.

We in wales have got to stop being little Englanders and be proud to be welsh stop reading English newspapers and stop listening to the English news start fighting for your children and grandchildren future in wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 it’s time for a new wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 kick all English party’s out of wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

I feel that the Welsh government has made the correct decisions. They acctually care about the health of people and are trying to protect them. When you go into any business you take a risk thus as they say your wealth may go up or down and you may not get back all you put in.

Let these right wing mouthpieces of the british ruling class continue their sneering attacks on the welsh govt - they are boosting support for Welsh independence every day 😉. And from my observations of discussions on social media over the last few days the attacks are boosting support for independence in welsh labour circles too

My answer: I don't read the English papers, so their putrid opinions are irrelevant to me.

Good article by Ifan. Surely It would make much more political and strategic sense for the Westminster Government and their lackies in the mainstream media to focus relentlessly on the fact that it is a Labour-run government imposing these restrictions. And to make the point that this type of governmental over-reach is indicative of a socialist mindset seeking top-down control over society. With ideology more often than not always triumphing over the actual facts on the ground. You would think that this would be particularly helpful for the Tories right now with Labour ahead in the opinion polls. Perhaps it's sheer hubris, or more likely a sense of exceptionalism, but they have instead reverted to a hackneyed 'bash devolution' approach which must ring the alarm bells here, when one considers the reach of papers such as the Sun, Express and Mail in Wales. It's a disaster for Welsh civic life that this then peads to a knee-jerk defense of all Drakeford's actions by more Welsh-minded people here. So we have a polarised 'devolution is rubbish' versus 'we must defend Drakeford s- he represents Wales'd state of affairs ,allowing no nuance or reasoned critique of the whole situation.. There is a sizeable cchunk o Ofthe population here who would not associate themselves with either oof these positions. Wales can be such a frustrating place to llve at times!

This. The inability to do basic fact checking or engage more deeply than 'I dislike this thing Welsh Govt is doing, therefore the concept of Welsh Govt must be inherently bad' just discredits a lot of the commentary from the outset. I doubt most of the outlets really care though - they're not interested in improving Welsh governance or encouraging debate within Wales. Just as an anti-westminster establishment vibe goes down well in Wales, they know a dollop of 'us and them' will pull in readers.

Funny to see all the T*ry MP's parroting the same rubbish on twitter too, WhatApp message must be doing the rounds. Blatant attack on our Government.

welsh labour will become more nationalist in their stance,it's only a matter of time.patience brothers and sisters,patience.

If only you ran a news website that could commission and publish such constructive criticism.

I'm late to this piece from 29 December - apologies. But: (1) Well done Ifan MJ for this piece - twenty comments before mine show that you've reminded us to scratch where it's itching. (2) As you write, "This disconnect between the British commentariat and the people of Wales would hardly matter if Wales had its own fully-developed public sphere. But unfortunately, it does matter because the Sun, Daily Mail, Telegraph, Times and others are the dominant media in Wales." On into 2022, people.