Reform backs member banned from speaking in Senedd for ‘white replacement’ claims

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Joe Martin, an MS from Cardiff Penarth, had asked in the Senedd on Tuesday for a Welsh government statement on “the demographic replacement of white British people taking place in the UK? Because the scale of change has been breathtaking. 

“Mass immigration and differing birth rates mean that, in just 37 years’ time, in 2063, we will be a minority in our own country.

“A nation is not an economic zone, it’s not a hotel, and neither is it a charity. It’s a family, which is capable of absorbing people of all races if done at a sensible rate, but not if it’s replaced altogether.”

Heledd Fychan, a minister in the Plaid Cymru-led government, asked for a ruling as to whether the remarks were in line with rules.

She said: “We cannot differentiate between people of different religions, different sexuality, different skin colour. 

“We are a government for everyone here in Wales, we are supposed to be a Senedd for everyone here in Wales. I reject wholeheartedly the division that is spouted by those members.”

Presiding Officer Huw Irranca-Davies described Mr Martin’s remarks as “discriminatory” and “offensive” and barred Mr Martin from speaking in the Senedd until he apologised and showed that he understood “the boundaries of acceptable parliamentary conduct.” 

But Mr Martin was backed by Reform leader in the Senedd, Helen Jenner, who said: “Freedom of speech must be protected at all costs.”

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