Emily Price
A Reform UK Member of the Senedd has hit out at online trolls who “bullied” his Romanian colleague and told her to “go home”.
Nigel Williams fiercely defended fellow Fflint Wrecsam MS Cristiana Emsley in a Substack article this week, condemning online abuse even when it came from his own party’s supporters.
Slamming “keyboard warriors” and the “drip of nastiness” the Reform politician branded some of the comments directed at his colleague as “simply appalling”, and “bullying, dressed up as opinion”.
Williams and Emsley were both elected to the Senedd in the same constituency following the May 7 election.
The Senedd website shows that prior to politics, Williams built a varied career in public service, working as a schoolteacher, serving with the police, and within the NHS.
However, no biography or background information is provided on the Senedd’s website for Emsley and her register of interests remains completely blank.
In William’s opinion column, he described defence of the Emsley as “a good politician” and “the best of the best”, adding that she is a “thoroughly good person” and “decent when nobody is watching”.
Defending Emsely against online abuse, Williams said that although his colleague was born in Romania, she is still British.
He highlighted some of her lesser-known career history, writing: “She [Emsley] was born in Romania. Like me, she served as a police detective but in Bucharest, and then as a police adviser in North Macedonia.
“The people of our constituency elected her to the Senedd. And people tell her to go home.
“But the UK is her home. She is British. She has served this country in roles requiring the utmost level of integrity, including with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.”
Williams went on to criticise what he called the “tolerant, inclusive brigade”, arguing that while they believe anyone who feels British can be British, they fail to question “why an Eastern European might not be regarded as British by them”.
The Reform MS appeared to criticise his own supporters too, saying that people on the political right are among those who abuse others online.
Williams wrote: “It would be easy to turn this into a party political moan. I will not. It is not just the left.
“The right does it too. I have seen people who would call themselves on my side of the argument being every bit as vicious to their opponents as anyone has been to me or to Cristiana.
“Everybody does it. That is what makes it so dispiriting. It is not a faction. It is a habit, and it has become the texture of public life.”
Williams warned that the abuse faced by politicians was putting good people off entering or staying in politics.
He argued that politicians who were willing to put up with harassment were not necessarily best suited to represent the public.
The Reform MS said that politicians that were born outside of the UK “get a particular version” of this harassment.
He wrote: “…’go home’ is the lazy, ugly form. It is not an argument about immigration policy.
“It is an instruction to a person to stop existing in public.”
He added: “‘Go home’ is not an argument. Neither is a slur, a threat, or a pile-on for its own sake.”
Williams said his colleague would continue doing her job, but criticised online commentators who “do not give a monkey’s” about the people they target with their comments.
He wrote: “We can do better than this. We used to. We still do, everywhere except behind a screen. Put the keyboard down. Have the row properly.
“Leave the person on the other side of it standing.”
Williams faced a backlash after sharing his Substack article on social media, with some commentators branding him a “hypocrite” over Reform UK’s policies, which include plans for mass deportations and have been criticised as effectively telling people born outside the UK to leave.
However, his article was praised by Plaid Cymru Welsh Government cabinet minister Dafydd Trystan Davies who said the Reform MS’s point had been “well made”.
Responding to the article on X, the minister wrote: “I think there is an opportunity for those of us who disagree (sometimes profoundly) to do so respectfully – and to encourage others to do so too.
“I look forward to more constructive contributions from Christiana as Chair of Leg following her debut today.”
Emsely responded to the Plaid minister saying: “Diolch Dafydd. I’m not surprised by your gracious response.
“We both believe politics should be about robust debate on policy, not personal attacks.
“I look forward to cooperation and scrutiny in equal measure, always with the aim of making Wales better.”
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