Sian Gwenllian, Plaid Cymru’s Senedd Election candidate for Arfon has accused First Minister Mark Drakeford of “shunning the Welsh language” by refusing to take part in a televised Leader’s Debate due to air on S4C three days before the Senedd Election on May 6th.
Sian Gwenllian said that Mr Drakeford’s decision was “an insult to the language and the national channel’s audience”, particularly in light of the fact that he had taken part in BBC Wales’s English-language debate the previous week.
Sian Gwenllian said:
“The televised leaders’ debates are an important forum during the election. They provide an opportunity not only for the party leaders to set out their stalls before the electorate, but they also give the public and moderators an opportunity to hold them to account on their key pledges.
“By refusing to take part in the S4C debate next week, First Minister Mark Drakeford is shunning the Welsh language and proving that he doesn’t consider this to be as important a debate as the English-language BBC Wales debate last week.
“Mr Drakeford’s attitude is an insult to the language and the national channel’s audience, and entirely undermined the Labour Party’s commitment to creating a million Welsh speakers.
“If the First Minister himself refuses to treat the language with respect, what hope is there of him succeeding in convincing others to do the same?”
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