Welsh Labour politician: Poor people don't go to football games

Wales doesn’t get much love from the national press these days. Among the three devolved assemblies, Cardiff Bay is very much the odd man out, not sharing the historic tensions of Stormont or the modern ones of Holyrood. The Labour government there has been in power since the Senedd’s creation; Plaid Cymru’s big push for independence fell flat in May, with the nationalists gaining just one seat despite excited expectations.

But while Mark Drakeford was praised for his handling of the Covid pandemic – being comfortably re-elected off the back of it – in recent months his administration’s authoritarian measures have begun to grate somewhat. The controversial introduction of vaccine passports last month by a single vote sparked fury in the hard-pressed Welsh hospitality industry, with a legal challenge now set to be mounted.