Secretary of State for Wales highlights that MPs in charge of English Departments need to be English 

On the 6th August the Secretary of State for Wales, the Right Honourable Alun Cairns MP, released a statement about how proud he felt about Welsh athletes being involved in the Rio Olympics.

It seems that he could not help but put his national identity ‘Welsh’ above his British one. He stated:-

As the 2016 Rio Olympics get under way today, I want to wish all of our Welsh competitors the very best of luck. As a team of 24, this is the highest number of athletes that has represented Wales for an overseas Olympics. It’s also the first time that there are more women than men in the squad. 

These men and women will be ambassadors for athletics and Wales and are going to fill us with pride in the same way that Ashley Williams and the Welsh football team did during the Euro 2016 tournament. 

The whole nation is behind our athletes, and I’m confident their hard work and dedication will deliver results. Pob lwc i gyd. 


The reason why his words are so damaging to the much vaunted unity of the UK is that we English now know that his first loyalty isn’t to the United Kingdom but to Wales. This should instantly rule him out of taking on any other role in the British government. It is obvious that his loyalties would be questionable if he was called upon to make a decision that ought to be to Welsh detriment, but to England’s advantage.
 
It is a serious breach because a British government cabinet member has wished his Welsh countrymen luck in sport above the English, Scottish and the Northern Irish. That goes action goes against the Act of Union 1707 which stated “United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain’ because the Olympics is a United Kingdom event not a Welsh event.
 
Alun Cairns’ words show that he treats his role in England no differently than a British Colonial District Officer treated overseas colonial possessions. Everyone now knows it is Wales first for him. 

He is involved in decisions that affect England whilst clearly his loyalty is solely to Wales. How many other Welsh MPs have the same loyalty as him? 

His statement is damaging to the concept of British government because the English can no longer trust that they will be treated equally by Welsh MPs working for the British government. 

Only English MPs should be in charge of English government departments!