On St. David's Day in 2019, ICM Unlimited conducted a poll in Wales. As many as 40% Welsh residents believe that there is more racial prejudice in Wales now than there was five years ago, whereas less than one in six believe there is less prejudice now and just 37 percent believe the degree of racial prejudice is about the same. This means that people in Wales are more than twice as likely to believe that there is more racial prejudice in the country now than there was five years ago – with a comparable degree of difference when asked whether racial prejudice would rise or diminish in the next five years. In their estimate of the next five years, less than 18% believe that racial prejudice will reduce in Wales, while around three in ten believe it will increase.(Jackson, 2019) For many, racial prejudice is still very much alive and well.
Picture by Kurt Löwenstein Educational Center International Team (CC BY 2.0)
There are, of course, many reasons for this finding, and I will list some major events here. The first is the Severn crossing renaming incident in 2018. About 26,000 have signed a petition against the move to name the second crossing The Prince of Wales Bridge. Mr Liddle sparked a backlash on social media after writing its name did not matter so long as it lets people "get out of the place pronto". In a column on Sunday, Mr Liddle writes: "The Welsh, or some of them, are moaning that a motorway bridge linking their rain-sodden valleys with the First World is to be renamed." He adds: "They would prefer it to be called something indecipherable with no real vowels, such as Ysgythysgymlngwchgwch Bryggy. "Let them have their way. So long as it allows people to get out of the place pronto, should we worry about what it is called".
And there's even worse. From Anne Robinson's question: "What are they for?" Prejudice against Welsh people has grown since the late writer A.A. Gill said that Welsh people were "loquacious" and "dishonest," "immoral liars" and "stunted" and "black, ugly, pugnacious little trolls."(BBC News, 1998) When people make complaints, they aren't very likely to get them true. "It was funny." Results: "It wasn't racist," they say, which is good news for the idea that racism isn't hateful if it's about Welsh people.
Jeremy Clarkson, a former BBC presenter, is well-known for his remarks about other countries and frequently expresses anti-Welsh bias, for example "Some individuals are born overweight, ugly, dyslexic, crippled, ginger, small, or Welsh, which is just unfair. I'm afraid that life is tragic." On his BBC2 show, he put a plastic map of Wales in the microwave and burned it, much to the delight of the crowd. Clarkson wrote in his weekend column for The Sun newspaper on September 4, 2011, that "I believe we are rapidly nearing the point where the United Nations should begin seriously considering the abolition of other languages. What is the objective of learning Welsh, for instance? All it does is give a stupid maypole for a bunch of hotheads to act all patriotic over."(Clarkson, 2008) Rod Liddle portrayed Welsh people as "miserable, seaweed-eating, sheep-bothering pinch-faced hill-tribes" in The Spectator magazine in October 2010, while arguing for the closure of S4C as part of the 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review.
According to a Welshman who has lived in London for 20 years, prejudice towards Welsh people residing in England is getting worse. When Welsh people in England were subjected to everyday slurs about their nationality, John Owen, who grew up in Aberystwyth, said it hurt his heart to witness Welsh people accused of racism on a recent Question Time television programme. "The Census problem, with the Welsh tick box, is symptomatic of the bias against us that isn't taken seriously," he remarked. "My colleagues are politically correct when it comes to people of other races, but it's open season on us. "When I entered the room, one of my coworkers made sheep noises. It was supposed to be a joke, but it lasted two years." He claimed that while his colleagues were pleased to mock Welsh accents, they would not dare to imitate Indian or Black accents. "I've lived here for 20 years and believe the situation is worse. "It's gotten to the point where I've stopped going to parties because I'm afraid there will be individuals who would insult me."
And things haven't gotten better over time, with statistics showing that race hate-inspired crime in Wales has been increasing in recent years.
(Office, 2021)
So why is this bigotry exist? For hundreds of years, the British government has consistently ignored and suppressed Welsh cultural and national identities. Welsh was degraded to the status as a language for the vulgar and the uneducated by the British government in Wales' schools in the mid-19th century, according to historians. Some schools in Wales used the 'Welsh Not' system to help students enhance their understanding of English (which was considered the language of the educated middle class at the time). An object on a string (usually etched with the letters W.N. or 'Welsh Not') that was presented to a youngster who spoke Welsh in school and was worn around the neck to discourage other children from speaking their home language was known as the 'Welsh Not.' At the end of the school day or week, the youngster who had worn the 'Welsh Not' would be disciplined, which would usually include a smack on the back of the head. Despite the fact that it was not implemented in all schools and was not an official government policy at the time, its use was widespread enough to be deemed norm in the late Victorian era. Even now, still traces of this concept that the English language is superior to other languages can be found.
BBC News. (1998, January 3). Writer Reported over “Ugly Little Trolls” Welsh Jibe. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/44283.stm
Clarkson, J. (2008, March 23). Ruck off, you nancy Aussies. Jeremy Clarkson - Times Online. https://web.archive.org/web/20080509203510/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/jeremy_clarkson/article3602024.ece
Jackson, G. (2019, March 14). BBC Wales - St. David’s Day Poll (4) - icmunlimited. Walnut Unlimited. https://www.icmunlimited.com/historical-polling/bbc-wales-st-davids-day-poll-4/
Office, H. (2021, October 12). Hate crime, England and Wales, 2020 to 2021. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2020-to-2021/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2020-to-2021
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