Plaid Cymru accused of 'cultural extremism' and 'attempting to rewrite Welsh history' amid plan to decolonise museums

Plaid Cymru has been accused of "cultural extremism" and "attempting to rewrite Welsh history" amid its scheme to decolonise museums.

The nationalist party said it will seek to deliver the Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan, which includes a "focus on the decolonisation of museum collections to rebalance perspectives".

Cabinet Minister for Culture and Sport Heledd Fychan said that they "expect museums to use guidance such as the Museums Association’s Support Decolonisation in Museums... when undertaking this work".

First lanched back in 2022, the plan aims to "actively dismantle" institutional and structural racism with a bid to establish a fully anti-racist nation by 2030.

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But Andrew RT Davies, the Conservative Senedd member for the Vale of Glamorgan and Bridgend, took aim at the plan and accused the administration of "attempting to rewrite Welsh history through the inaccurate framing of the progressive left".

He went on to warn the "far-left" politicisation of museum would divert resources from where they are more necessary.

Mr Davies said: "Plaid Cymru separatists’ attempts to rewrite Welsh history through the inaccurate framing of the progressive left show nothing has changed.

"Rhun ap Iorwerth promised to improve our public services, but instead his administration is doubling down on the worst projects pursued by his Labour predecessors.

"The people of Wales don’t want our museums decolonised, they want a functioning NHS."

Ahead of May 7, Reform's manifesto for the Senedd election vowed the party would instruct museums how to display history if it were to win power.

The populist party added that it would tell the educational institutions to present events in order and "in context".

It added that the bodies would "reflect the full breadth of Welsh history and culture rather than narrow or exclusionary narratives".

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The manifesto read: "Publicly funded museums, heritage bodies, and interpretation sites will present history chronologically and in context, with clarity about cause and consequence."

A spokesman for Reform claimed that public spaces often presented "divisive views of history designed to make people feel guilty".

He added: "For example, the former Museums Wales chief's 'decolonisation strategy' was one of the organisation's top priorities.

"We think there is much in British and Welsh history to be proud of - those things should be celebrated."

But a union for museum workers warned against possible state interference, insisting their curation layout and presentation should be down to each institution's workers.

Back in 2024, as part of Wales' bid to "decolonise" the region, David Lloyd George's childhood cottage was undergoing the process of being decolonised.

The First World War leader's Welsh home was converted into a museum - with LGBT displays on the cards for the future of the site.

Part of its renovation, designed to "set the right historic narrative" and "promote a multicultural, vibrant and diverse Wales", was funded by the Welsh Government.

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