8. Plaid Cymru Debate: The proposed renaming of the Second Severn Crossing

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:19 pm on 25 April 2018.

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Photo of John Griffiths John Griffiths Labour 6:19, 25 April 2018

Diolch, Dirprwy Llywydd. First of all, I would like to make the point that names do matter. They really do matter. They send signals and they're symbolically important, and they do mean something to people. Dirprwy Lywydd, I would much prefer to be living in a republic with its strong messages of citizenship, empowerment and position from achievement and ability, rather than accident of birth. Sadly, that is not the case, but neither do we live in a principality. Wales is not the fiefdom of a prince, so the renaming of our national stadium as the Principality Stadium was unhelpful. It reinforces incorrect, misleading and careless descriptions of Wales as a principality and is therefore, I would argue, demeaning and belittling. And now the proposal to rename the second Severn crossing 'Prince Charles bridge' threatens to add to damaging misconceptions. It's ironic as well, I believe, that just as the crossing has returned to public ownership, it is proposed to rename it, not with a name the people have decided upon and want, but with one handed down from on high without even a public consultation. Many tens of thousands of motorists use the bridge every day but had no say in whether it needed a new name and, if so, what that new should be. Dirprwy Lywydd, I would say that the UK Government's actions in this matter could rightfully be characterised as—