To have had tears in my eyes watching Mark Drakefords outburst today

[Searchingforsun]

The all encompassing anger he obviously feels towards the Tories and what they’ve done to our country, was something I feel so strongly too.

I found it so refreshing that someone in UK politics, who regardless of whether you agree with his politics or not is undeniably principled, has finally spoken out in this way

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-63303690

He is elected, unlike our *PM who is unable to say what she thinks or what she stands for....

• though i'll have to check who our PM is, might have changed since i got up.

But, but, but he’s progressive, innit. Who cares about the economy. Everyone can have a rant when they get free money.

Someone with integrity. What a refreshing contrast with the last 12 years of self serving charlatans.

Last night the Senedd was lit up red to oppose slavery there were grumbles about saving electricity

That’s not the Senedd it’s the Welsh government building in Cathays Park. The Senedd is the Welsh Parliament, it is situated in Cardiff Bay and it has the same relationship to the Welsh government as the House of Commons does to the UK government.

Sorry working on one eye here post operative glaucoma. It's still tone deaf just now when folks aren't putting their heating on and here church and school are reminding us to put together a food parcel on a regular basis to feed our own local poor.

Integrity? More like delusion, as with most Labourites.

That would be Rebecca Evans you'd need to speak to about that. She's got a History degree but someone somewhere thought that would qualify her to run Wales' finances.

Of course it was easy for Mark Drakeford to show a bit of passion. The Tories have opened the door to a disaster. Now at last, after years of silently letting them do what they want and not putting up a strong and active opposition (which is what they're there for) Labour can get up and go 'This is terrible' and look angry and upset. But I want more from Labour than that. They should have been fighting the Tories every inch of the way. Instead they've just hung around waiting for the Tories to fuck up.

They should have been fighting the Tories every inch of the way. Instead they've just hung around waiting for the Tories to fuck up.

That’s turned out to be a pretty successful strategy. Giving them enough rope to hang themselves was always going to be the only way to get rid of a party with a 70 odd majority. Nobody in their wildest dreams could have foreseen how comprehensively they’d do it.

Wakes has the worst NHS service in Britain. Mark Drakeford and Welsh Labour have presided over this. He cannot blame the current situation for their long standing failure of delivery on the NHS. Wales was particularly poorly placed to cope with the additional pressures caused by the pandemic as the NHS in Wales was already so dire.

I heard Mark D trying to distract attention from his own utter failure in this area over many, many years. His impotent outburst communicated to me that he has no idea how to solve the crisis that his poor management over many years has made worse. And he hasn’t even got the character to own that.

Try he NHS in Wales is a devolved responsibility. The long-standing poor performance of the NHS in Wales is therefore MD’s and Welsh Labour’s responsibility. It’s long been the worst performing NHS in Britain.

But it appears all you need to do to be hailed a hero is not to actually fix the problems in the country you govern, in areas you have responsibility for, but instead have an impassioned rant at a member of a party who is not in power in the parliament that has responsibility for the area you are failing in.

Its depressing that smoke and mirrors appear to be so effective in evading political responsibility. I guess we really do have the politicians we deserve.

I live in Wales. My local hospital has been downgraded to a minor injuries unit - if you have a heart attack, good luck getting to the nearest hospital which is a 45 minute drive away (depending on traffic), or getting an ambulance. Wait times in A&E are about 12 hours. There's no NHS dentists to be had.
The Labour Party have been in charge of the Welsh healthcare budget for a long time now and there comes a point where they have to take responsibility for their own failings. As awful as the Tories have been in managing healthcare in England, it isn't always better in Wales. Although tbf we do have free prescriptions. This is good but not helpful when you are stuck in A&E with patients lying in the floor and passing out from blood loss in the toilets at their new flagship hospital!

He has thrown women under the bus with his complete acceptance of Stonewall, so much like the rest of Labour and was a complete fucking menace with his Covid lockdown - proper little dictator he was!

I think he means well but like so many of our politicians was promoted above his ability.

However in this context a man of principle, the majority of who’s policies I absolutely do not agree with, holding the Tories to account restored some of my faith in politics

But it’s Mark Drakeford who is responsible for the NHS in Wales! What you actually heard was the man whose accountable having an angry rant at a man whose party is not responsible (welsh conservatives: they are not in power in the Wales, the NHS is devolved to control in Wales).

MD was avoiding accountability for his own failings! That’s what you heard!

It's not all it's cracked up to be, trust me. They're just as incompetent as the rest. I have to work with the decisions made by his cabinet. Blowing money on vanity projects while public services are falling apart (measurably worse than in England in oh so many cases).

Not that I'm claiming that things are fine in England because they're not, nor in Scotland (transport seems to be reasonably well run, but education and healthcare are appalling).

I think…hope… the tide is turning now and the public are beyond the point of confusion. Once things start hitting people in their pockets it’s hard not to have your eyes opened.

Really! A lot of people vote for parties that their future selves aspire to be. Look at the poor fuckers who voted for Trump and who would still vote for him, despite his tax cuts for the rich and promises to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. Brexit was always going to hurt the poorest but still millions of the poor voted for it. Do not underestimate peoples ability to vote against their best interests.

The Tories being in power is the responsibility of all of us. My parents were bought of with a cheap council house. Relatives of mine were caught up in the Windrush generation scandal and were shocked when successive Tory Home Secretaries used the same rules to ‘get rid’ of others, against them.

People have very short memories.

I really don't care about woke Trendy gestures what I do care about is a loved family member who was driven to hospital by his wife to avoid ambulance delays. They then spent 30 hours in A&E before being admitted. After negative MRI and ultrasound scans. Five days in hospital where ever said that it wasn't a stroke. They discharged him as a stroke patient. He had one session of therapy. Therapist said he'd done marvellously so discharged him. He's 71 FFS

I had a similar reaction. I think it's because his reaction is exactly the right reaction and then one we are all (most of us) also having. And it's what the Tory MP's should be saying to their leader if they had any honour about them at all

He is elected, unlike our PM who is unable to say what she thinks or what she stands for....

though i'll have to check who our PM is, might have changed since i got up.*

I dispair when people post that the above. You have never voted for a prime minister only your local mp. All parties have mechanisms where their members vote in thier leader.

Gordon Brown spent a few years as PM when Tony Blair left without there being an election, or does this only matter when it's someone you don't like.

We don't usually agree but you are dead right, what Kwarteng did with the economy, millions of pensions, plus causing £ to crash against the $ (imports now more expensive) and none of it HIS money.

Ha ha... Brown carried on the Blair manifesto pledges (unlike Truss) and he was only the 1st PM labour had.

So far the Tories have changed PM after Cameron, then again after May and now yet again after Johnson.... and of course, Bojo himself claims he won the Tories an 80 seat majority and many of course blame Labours defeat on Corbyn... both blow a hole in your idea that who will be PM never crosses anyones mind whilst in the ballot booth.... or do you think it makes a very big difference?

Will Truss still be PM before i hit POST ? yet another top tory has walked..... its ridiculous, we are a Nuclear power, with a permanent seat on the UN security council but behaving like a 1980s South American right wing country.

Tory voters, you need to have a word with your local constituency/MP.

both blow a hole in your idea that who will be PM never crosses anyones mind whilst in the ballot booth.... or do you think it makes a very big difference?

Whether it crosses anyone's mind is irrelevant, you don't vote for a prime minister you vote for your MP.

I'm not a Tory voter but I am sick of people saying they didn't vote for someone, when they never do.

Can’t stand him. Him and his lockdown obsession are part of the reason why the economy has tanked.

He’s a hypocrite and people have short memories. Remember going to the supermarket and having the book aisle taped off?!

Our Welsh public services are the worst in the UK and yet we pay some of the highest council tax.

I’m just as angry as he was, at him.

Absolutely awful to watch! Do not agree with him whatsoever. I live in Wales. Whatever London did during lockdown he did the opposite just to make a point! He is an angry man with an awful temper god knows what he is like at home!

That's why we call him Dickford in our house.

I agree, he seemed very frustrated with what the tories have done but I cannot help wonderig if there wasn't some other pressures on him and this was the "straw that broke....... I really felt for him.