 Ron Davies stood down from assembly in May's elections |
Former Welsh Secretary Ron Davies has reiterated an attack on his party's attitudes to the Welsh language in his first major speech since leaving the assembly. On Thursday, the former MP and AM for Caerphilly said some within Labour's ranks used "terms of abuse" towards Welsh speakers and the language and some views were "frankly unacceptable".
A Labour Party spokesman flatly denied Mr Davies' accusation that the party was hostile to the Welsh language.
But Mr Davies expanded on the topic while delivering the Welsh Political Archive speech at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth.
He was critical of education minister Jane Davidson's decision to block the creation of Welsh medium schools in Caerphilly.
 |  Tragically the language heartland has become an excuse for party tribalism  |
He told the audience at the Old College: "It's precisely short-sighted and prejudiced attitudes like this which perpetuate the misunderstanding and discrimination which has for far too long held back the development of the Welsh language. "
And speaking on the Welsh heartlands he commented: "Either there's intervention, or over time the language will wither and die.
"But instead of being seen as a reason for action, tragically the language heartland has become an excuse for party tribalism.
"I am sad to say that the party of which I am currently a member carries the burden of responsibility - choosing inactivity and political point-scoring instead of creating agreement and a meaningful strategy for community survival."
'Coded language'
Mr Davies had told BBC Wales' Dragon's Eye programme the previous evening: "Consensus [on the Welsh language] is starting to break up and you hear views within the Labour party that are frankly unacceptable - terms of abuse about people who speak Welsh, about the language."
He said this included "very senior" figures within the party.
He had also said a feeling of alienation towards the Labour party helped him make the decision to resign.
The Welsh assembly government was not spared by the man seen as the architect of Welsh devolution.
"Talk of clear red water might be convenient coded language to distance Cardiff Labour from London Labour but it can't mask the absence of a clear sense of purpose and a clear set of policies," he said.
"There's a poverty of genuine ambition and a surfeit of deliberately exaggerated expectations.
"There is no determination to face the big issues so it's the trivial, the gestures, and the gimmicks which dominate the agenda."
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