Second homes and Brexit pushing Welsh language to ‘tipping point’

‘The decline of Welsh as a community language is important to all of Britain. It’s the last Celtic language spoken at the community level.’ Photograph: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans/Rex/Shutterstock

The “anglicisation” of Welsh speaking villages and towns caused by newcomers snapping up homes after Covid, together with the economic stress of Brexit and the cost of living crisis, is pushing the Welsh language to a “tipping point”, the head of a new commission established to address the situation has warned.

Simon Brooks, chair of the Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities, said that unless action were taken there was a danger that Welsh as a community language could soon be lost in some of its traditional heartlands.