Ella Groves – ICNN Senedd Reporter
A Senedd debate on whether full-face coverings are against ‘British values’ was condemned by Wales’ deputy first minister as “shameful”.
Tabled by Reform MS Jason O’Connell, the party was accused by members of stoking division and attacking religious freedom.
Mr O’Connell began the heated debate, held on Wednesday October 21, by discussing crime and public safety, criticising “balaclava clad young men” on illegal ebikes for “making our streets feel unsafe”.
But focus quickly shifted to immigration and face-coverings such as the burka and niqab, with the Reform MS accusing Plaid Cymru of caring more about “foreign cultures” than their own.
He told members Reform supports freedom of religion in “all its forms” but said “a line must be drawn” where that freedom “oppresses women and damages assimilation into Welsh communities”.
The Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr MS said many countries have already banned the burka, adding: “We cannot allow this form of oppression to become the norm in Wales”.
He said accusations that Reform were being Islamophobic and racist were “tired, ineffective, and clearly, wildly inaccurate”.
Fellow Reform MS Francesca O’Brien supported the call, describing a ban as “simple common sense.”
She said: “Face coverings including the burka are anti-British. Not all cultures are equal. We can’t continue to import alien cultures into this country and expect integration. These oppressive beliefs are totally at odds with our history and culture.”
Her comments were met with shouting from across the Siambr.
Fellow Reform MS Joe Martin claimed the burqa and niqab were two ways in which “fundamentalist Islam” was incompatible with “western civilisation”.
He said: “They represent ideas that are oppressive, misogynistic and anti-British.”
Deputy first minister Sioned Williams accused Reform members of deliberately pitting communities against each other for political gain.
“Who is the arbiter of Britishness or Welshness? Who decides a woman who wears a face covering is less British or less Welsh?” Ms Williams asked the Siambr, warning that political rhetoric was increasingly normalising Islamophobia.
“Ironic”
Fflint Wrecsam MS, Carrie Harper, dismissed claims that the motion was about crime, calling it a “thinly veiled attack on the religious rights of women.”
She said it was ironic that Reform had framed the debate around values in the same week that an ITV News investigation had exposed “deep-rooted racism and sexism” in the party.
Her comments were echoed by Caerdydd Penarth MS Kiera Marshall, who shared that a Muslim woman had been attacked in her constituency over the wearing of a headscarf.
She said: “This is exactly what the rhetoric that Reform is peddling is doing.”
“Nonsense”
Condemning the debate as “nonsense”, Labour’s Huw Thomas drew attention to the work done by the RNLI and the intimidation volunteers with the organisation have recently faced.
Mr Thomas told members a “fine representation of British values” is the “decency and courage” of the RNLI in saving lives in the English channel “regardless of creed or skin or race or religion” .
“Shameful”
Deputy first minister Williams said she was “disturbed” by an “unsettling sound” throughout the contributions to the debate, adding: “You don’t have to strain hard at all, do you, anymore, to hear the dog whistle that has too often pierced political debates in this chamber since the election in May?”
She continued: “It lingers over those benches, a deliberately intangible thing that leaves too many wondering whether a line has been crossed.
“I am not afraid to speak up and say that, since May, that line has too often been crossed.”
Ms Williams accused the Reform members of deliberately pitting communities against each other for political gain, an action she described as “as shameful as it is hateful”.
She drew on the words of German philosopher Hannah Arendt, author of The Origins of Totalitarianism, who said: “The death of human empathy is one of the earliest and most telling signs of a culture on the verge of descending into barbarism.”
Concluding her response, Ms Williams said: “At a time when racism and Islamophobia, fuelled by deliberate political discourse, are becoming increasingly normalised, we should remind ourselves that we, as elected Members in this Chamber, hold a position of privilege and of power. Our words matter and we can’t afford to stay silent.”
Her contribution was met with applause from the Siambr.
There was no vote on the short debate, with Wales not having the power to ban face-coverings.
Protest
There were protests on the steps of the Senedd in Cardiff Bay – which some members joined – before the debate, with the Muslim Council of Wales releasing a statement criticising what was to be discussed.
It said: “Wales and Britain face deep challenges. In Wales, 31% of children are living in poverty, the Welsh employment rate continues to sit below the UK average, and Britain faces increasing threats from abroad. It is bizarre that in this context, Jason O’Connell and Reform have chosen to utilise their taxpayer-funded time and that of other Senedd members on a dog-whistle debate.
“Religious freedom is a cornerstone of British values and a deeply rooted, cherished Welsh tradition – one that was, until recently, embodied by the Senedd and its members. We are concerned by Reform’s authoritarian attitudes toward civil and personal liberties.
“The people of Wales deserve better.”
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