A Tory member of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) has raised concerns about “censorship” after the Llywydd (Presiding Officer) Elin Jones stepped in during a question on grooming gangs.
Ms Jones interrupted Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar MS (Member of the Senedd) during First Minister’s Questions as he asked First Minister Eluned Morgan whether she supported calls for a new national inquiry. The Llywydd accused Millar of being “overly descriptive” and warned Senedd members to “make sure that you are keeping well away from inflaming any kind of discrimination”.
Speaking on an ITV Wales discussion show later that evening Samuel Kurtz MS criticised the intervention. “To be censored on being asked a really topical question which is of public interest to me was the wrong decision,” he said. “If a politician can’t stand up in a national Parliament and ask tough questions… then I think that’s a really difficult position for us to be in.”
In response, Labour’s Carolyn Thomas suggested the issue was being raised “politically” and advocated for “a kinder type of politics,” emphasizing community values. Plaid Cymru’s Mabon ap Gwynfor likened the Presiding Officer’s role to that of a referee in rugby, stating, “If the Llywydd says you can do something or you can’t do something, you respect that.”
Critics argue that such calls for a “kinder” type of politics have, at times, led to censorship and a narrowing of viewpoint diversity in the Welsh Parliament.
In 2023, the Welsh Parliament faced similar allegations of “censorship” after banning GB News from its internal television system. The decision was met with backlash, including criticism from then Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies. Describing the move as a “disgrace,” he warned that it should “worry us all.”
“Plurality of the media is crucial to ensure a functioning democracy,” he said. “It’s appalling that the Labour Welsh Government has imposed a blanket ban on watching GB News on Senedd TVs. People should be free to choose if they want to watch GB News. It’s not for the Senedd to decide.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for Elin Jones defended the decision, citing a broadcast on GB News that was “deliberately offensive, demeaning to public debate, and contrary to our parliament’s values.”
The broadcast in question reportedly involved former GB News presenter Laurence Fox making inflammatory remarks about political journalist and feminist campaigner Ava Evans.
Staff and members who wanted to watch the channel were told by the spokesperson to “do so online”.
Ms Jones has also been at the centre of controversy for other value judgments, having refused calls for the Israeli flag to be flown outside the Senedd in solidarity with the victims of Hamas’s October 7th terrorist attacks, or to illuminate the Senedd in solidarity with Israel, as the UK Parliament did.
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