Prince Charles BACKLASH: Welsh fury as 30,000 sign petition against royal bridge name
AN online petition calling for the Second Severn bridge not to be named after Prince Charles has gathered 30,000 signatures.
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Protesters also took to the streets over the weekend demanding that the M4 motorway bridge, that connects England and Wales, be named after “someone who has achieved something for our nation”.
At a demonstration in Cardiff, protestors held waved Welsh flags and DIY signs with slogans that said: “No to the Prince of Wales bridge! Let the people decide.”
Another dubbed the move: “Pointless expensive propaganda.”
The petition is titled “Stop the renaming of the Second Severn Crossing to the Prince of Wales Bridge”.
Plaid Cymru councillor Keith Parry said at the demonstration that the move to rename the bridge should not have been made unilaterally.
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It is outrageous the gateway to the country has been renamed and no one knows anything about it
He said: “If the bridge is going to be named there needs to be a consultation.”
Neil McEvoy, a Welsh Assembly member, also demanded that the Welsh public have input into the decision.
He said: “There has been a complete lack of consultation with the people of Wales.
“It is outrageous the gateway to the country has been renamed and no one knows anything about it.”
He added: “People are angry because it signifies how Wales is taken for granted and that has to stop.
“I have written to the minister asking for him to reconsider because the name change should not go ahead.”
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Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said in an April 5 statement: “I’m delighted to announce that - with the agreement of the Prime Minister and Her Majesty The Queen - the Second Severn Crossing will be renamed the Prince of Wales Bridge.
“The announcement is a fitting tribute to His Royal Highness in a year that sees him mark 60 years as The Prince of Wales and decades of continued, dedicated service to our nation
“Renaming one of the most iconic landmarks in Wales is a fitting way to formally recognise his commitment and dedication to Wales and the UK as the Prince of Wales.”
Mr Cairns has rejected criticism of the decision to name the bridge after Prince Charles, saying that the “silent majority” would be in favour of renaming the bridge.
It has been confirmed by the Welsh Government that Mr Cairns wrote to First Minister Carwyn Jones last year and no objections were raised.