Reform Wales Leader Backs Senedd Member Barred From Speaking
Reform Wales leader Helen Jenner defended Senedd member Joe Martin after he was barred from speaking in the chamber until he apologizes for remarks about white people being “replaced.” The party said its members would boycott most of Wednesday’s proceedings before returning for an evening vote.
Reform Wales leader Helen Jenner backed Senedd member Joe Martin on Wednesday, calling his suspension from speaking in the chamber an infringement on freedom of speech as the party boycotted most of the Welsh Parliament’s proceedings.
Reform said its members would withdraw from most of the day’s business and return later to vote. Jenner confirmed the boycott outside the Senedd.
Martin was told he could not speak in the chamber until he apologized for saying white people were being “replaced” in the UK. Presiding Officer Huw Irranca-Davies ruled that he would not be called to speak until he showed he understood the boundaries of acceptable parliamentary conduct and apologized in the chamber.
“We cannot allow the Senedd to become a place where challenging views are shut down,” Jenner said in a statement. She also called freedom of speech “a fundamental part of our democracy.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the ruling as “ridiculous and outrageous.”
Irranca-Davies called Martin’s remarks “unnecessarily provocative and deliberately offensive.” Senedd rules give the presiding officer discretion to decide whether contributions use discriminatory or offensive language.
Martin made the remarks while asking for a Welsh government statement on the “demographic replacement of white British people” during business questions, when members can raise issues of their choice. Business Minister Heledd Fychan then asked the presiding officer whether the comments complied with chamber rules.
The ruling applies to the chamber, not committee work. Martin remains a member of the Senedd’s Equality, Human Rights and Social Justice Committee.
Irranca-Davies said it was not the first time he had rebuked Martin. In September, he said Martin had made offensive remarks about surgeons working in the Welsh National Health Service gender service.
Plaid Cymru member Marc Jones called on Martin to apologize “for the constant harm and fear he causes among our communities.”
Martin represents Caerdydd Penarth, which includes some of Wales’ most ethnically diverse communities. In the 2021 census, 93.8% of people in Wales identified as white, down from 95.6% a decade earlier. The share identifying as Asian, Asian Welsh or Asian British rose from 2.3% to 2.9%.
