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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Will Hayward

Here’s how the government can save a few quid: abolish this pointless cabinet position

Wales United Kingdom Will Hayward Westminster Cymru George Thomas John Redwood Jo Stevens Whitehall
Jo Stevens, then shadow Welsh secretary, visiting the steelworks at Port Talbot, 22 March 2024
Jo Stevens, then shadow Welsh secretary, visiting the steelworks at Port Talbot, 22 March 2024. Photograph: Kara Thomas/Athena Pictures

In the space of one week, Labour-run Wales has been short-changed by Labour-run Westminster on projects from rail funding to national insurance contributions. The poorest nation in the UK is being let down. Repeatedly. But what is to be done?

What we need is a hero. Someone whose job is to speak up for Wales in cabinet, to be Cymru’s voice in Westminster’s corridors of power. Luckily for Wales, there is such a person – the secretary of state for Wales. Unluckily for Wales, this role has long been utterly obsolete. Rather than being the voice of Wales in cabinet, it far more often represents the voice of the cabinet in Wales. It needs to go.

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