How a Welsh town became a hotbed of anti-English hatred
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Located in a leafy suburb less than a mile from the sea, Iorwerth Avenue in Aberystwyth is understandably a sought-after place to live.
Its residents are a mix of lawyers and councillors, both Welsh and English, and the general consensus is that most people know each other and get along well. Yet recently, that has changed.
A well-known and “popular” resident hailing from the Midlands received a poison pen letter, accusing him of being “low-life” and urging him to go back to “Brummyland”.
Written in red ink, the note read:
Police are treating the note as a hate crime, and – worried that it is linked to the violent Welsh Nationalism of the 1970s and 1980s which saw arsonists attack English-owned holiday homes – have taken measures to fire-proof the victim’s home.
Meanwhile, locals point to a souring of relations with “incomers”, with tensions fuelled by the rise in numbers of Airbnbs, staycations and second homes.
The recipient of the letter, Ben Williams, 55, a local doorman, told The Telegraph: “I moved here from the Midlands in 2008, but all my descendants are Welsh and I think of myself as Welsh.
“This has massively hurt me. I haven’t slept since it happened. You don’t know who it is or what I’ve done. It’s been designed to drive me out of here. I’m a well-known pillar of the community and that’s why it’s been done in such a cowardly way.
“It’s so nasty and has also really hurt my girlfriend. She feels unsafe.”
There is no doubt that many neighbours are shocked and disgusted by the note. One, Wyn Davies, described Mr Williams as the most “amiable man” who can always be relied upon to help anyone. Yet, for others, the anti-English sentiment comes as no surprise.
One English neighbour, Neil, who did not wish to give his last name, said: “I’ve got a lot of Welsh friends but some around here just don’t like the English. When I first moved here a decade or so ago, I often got comments such as ‘Go home English’ or ‘Why don’t you speak Welsh?’.
“There’s just a general undercurrent. There’s loads of students and Polish here. I don’t know if it’s racism or just defending the old culture.”
Whether the letter is an example of a rise in anti-English sentiment or the work of one lone wolf, there is no doubt the town has strong nationalist roots.
Alun Williams, local Plaid Cymru councillor, said: “There have been many events that have taken place in this town over the years in support of either independence or the Welsh language, for example, the Trefechan Bridge demonstrations, which campaigned for the Welsh language.
“These have left a lasting legacy that people are proud of. But this note is nasty and not reflective. Aberystwyth is a welcoming, cosmopolitan town used to visitors with few of these kinds of tensions.”
There is no denying the town has seen change in recent years. Like much of Wales, there has been an increase in English moving in, with a 30 per cent rise between 2020 and 2022, driven by lower house prices (on average, Welsh houses are almost £100,000 cheaper than those in England) and cheaper living costs.
David Sayce, of Compare My Move, which released the data, said: “People are feeling the squeeze with the cost of living, and the rising inflation rates over the past few years, so it makes sense that people are looking for places to move with money on their mind. Wales fits the bill and it’s going to continue.”
An estate agent, who did not wish to be named in fear of a backlash from the Welsh community, added: “Plenty of English move in, and many Welsh who moved out when they were younger are coming back.
“But the main problem is jobs – there is no real work in this part of Wales, so locals struggle to stay and also to afford the houses. But there has always been great antagonism towards the English in this part of Wales. We are so remote and unconnected to the rest of the UK.”
The town – which already boasts a student population of 8,000 due to the well-regarded university – has also become something of a tourist destination.
Last year, a survey by American Express showed that Wales was the favoured place for people in the UK to holiday, beating Cornwall, Devon and the Lake District.
Seven per cent of houses in Ceredigion are second homes, while Wales has seen a huge rise in the number of Airbnbs (in 2022, the number across the country stood at 22,000 properties – a 53 per cent rise in just four years).
A 2022 report by the Bevan Foundation think-tank also showed the dearth of low-cost housing, with only 60 properties advertised across Wales being available at local housing authority rates.
Ben Lake, MP for Ceredigion, said: “Much of my work in recent years has been concerned with Airbnb properties that open up in residential areas, with all the noise and nuisances that come with that.
“We also have a huge housing shortage. But I still do not believe there is any risk of any direct action having a resurgence.”
It is a similar situation across much of Wales. Down the coast in Tenby, locals complain that the town is inundated with two million visitors in summer, but left a “ghost town” in winter, with one in four properties in the town centre being holiday homes.
On the Llyn Peninsula, locals have blamed a crackdown on second homes – caused by a hike in council tax – to a change in those who visit.
One local said: “The summer in Wales is now huge and marred by bad behaviour. People who owned second homes have sold up and these properties are often converted to Airbnbs and rented to anyone.
“It’s the same with caravans. The demand means they are just being let to people no one knows.”
Some link this rise in tourism with a rise in crime, with one anonymous local saying: “Since Covid, there’s been a rise in the number of staycations, especially in the local caravan parks.
“There’s more people coming here from England – like the Midlands. And they come with bad behaviour and crime.”
Statistics back this up, with a rise in the number of public order offences and violent crimes in recent years. For instance, in 2020, there were 56 violent crimes in Aberystwyth, rising to 106 in 2022, while public order offences increased from 16 to 31.
In 2022, the BBC reported that local residents were complaining that English gangs “from the Midlands” were causing trouble in the centre of Aberystwyth, blaming county lines drug gangs.
There are parallels between the pressures on housing and tourism today and those of the 1970s, when a violent form of Welsh nationalism took root.
The movement was stirred into life by the fate of Capel Celyn in 1965 – a village in the valley of Tryweryn in northwest Wales that was sacrificed to make a reservoir to bring drinking water to the people of Liverpool.
One campaign group, Meibion Glyndŵr – meaning sons of Glyndŵr – then formed to protest against the large numbers of homes being bought by the English for use as holiday homes, pushing up house prices beyond the means of most locals.
Between 1979 and the mid-1990s, they set fire to and damaged more than 200 English-owned properties. The movement peaked in the late 1980s with the targeting of Conservative MPs’ homes with letter bombs, most notably David Hunt, the then Welsh secretary, in 1990.
In recent years, there has been a resurgence of Welsh nationalism, with polls consistently showing support for an independent Wales running at around 30 per cent.
Some 60 per cent of 16 to 34-year-olds are pro-independence, with more than 80 per cent in favour of greater devolution for the Senedd. It is thought that the push for nationalism in Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as the UK Government’s handling of Brexit and Covid, has increased calls for a break-away, as has younger people’s increased engagement with the Welsh language.
But some also blame Mark Drakeford, the First Minister of Wales, for stirring up Welsh nationalism. He has previously condemned nationalism as an “inherently Right-wing creed” while saying devolution was the “best of both worlds”.
But the Welsh Labour manifesto for the 2020 Senedd elections said the “UK is a voluntary association of four nations” and in 2021, Mr Drakeford said the UK Government was actively hostile to the Welsh government and Senedd.
Welsh Tory Darren Millar has repeatedly accused Mr Drakeford of “flirting with a divisive and hostile nationalism”. He told The Telegraph: “Labour has never managed to secure a majority in the Senedd and can only govern because they are propped up by Plaid Cymru.
“That’s why the First Minister makes constant overtures to the nationalists and wants to give the impression of support for their aspirations.
“Focussing on the need for more powers is also a convenient distraction from Labour’s failings in Wales where their policy decisions have resulted in worse NHS services, poorer educational outcomes and the lightest pay packets in the UK.”
This week, a report by the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales concluded that independence for Wales is a “viable option” – although it would suffer “significant” short to medium-term challenges in raising enough tax for public services.
The actor Michael Sheen, who has moved back to his home town of Port Talbot in recent years, has also been vocal about his desire for Welsh independence. Speaking on Irish radio station Newstalk in 2021, the actor said that the fight for better representation was a noble one.
When asked if the debate could turn toxic, he said: “Anything can turn toxic. But I think basic unfairness has to be addressed, one way or the other, and if [the UK government] doesn’t then you know things do become toxic.”
He added: “The suggestion there is that things are not toxic already. We’re not talking about something where everything is fair and working perfectly and then these awful nationalists are trying to make everything toxic.
“I think there’s just a basic sense [that] there’s a different way and it should be tried because maybe things aren’t working as well as people would hope.”
Celebrities Charlotte Church and It’s A Sin screenwriter Russell T Davies have also spoken out about Welsh independence.
Welsh experts are, however, keen to downplay any possible link between the Aberystwyth poison pen letter and historical militant nationalism.
Marion Loeffler, an expert in Welsh history at Cardiff University, said: “This note is nothing to do with Welsh nationalism per se but a town overwhelmed with tourism and people moving in from outside.
“In some towns in West Wales, more than 60 per cent of houses are second homes. Locals cannot afford the houses.”
From April this year, council tax on second homes in Ceredigion will double, following similar rises in other counties such as Gwynedd and Pembrokeshire.
But Ms Loeffler does not think this will have an impact. “The rich can afford it,” she says. “We need powerful housing legislation or this will get worse.”
Meanwhile, Plaid Cymru MS Mabon ap Gwynfor said: “This isn’t Welsh nationalism that I recognise. Welsh nationalism is not racist or bigoted and it doesn’t put people down.
“Even the violent nationalism in the Seventies was, in my view, not the real nationalism. My grandfather was the first elected Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament, and he was a pacifist, as am I.”
He does, however, link the note to real problems faced by much of Wales. He said: “The letter is racist, but it’s also an expression of an individual and community’s view about not being able to afford houses to rent, let alone buy.
“If we carry on as we are, Wales will become a playground for tourists and a battery for the rich. We create energy through wind and water for wealthier parts of Britain and serve as a playground for people to visit and then leave.
“But there are living communities here with rich traditions, which need to be respected, valued and helped to thrive.”
Back in Aberystwyth, the anti-English sentiment can be found easily enough. Speaking from Yr Hen Orsaf pub, Brian Morgan, 69, said: “The English can come here so long as they have the dragon on their back.
“But what with the English and asylum seekers, local youngsters can’t afford a place to live.”
Another, who did not wish to be named, said: “There’s no real problem, but they often don’t seem to have any respect for those who have always lived here.”
Dyfed Powys Police say they are still investigating the hate crime. Meanwhile, its victim, Mr Williams, is still shaken.
“They need to find who did it,” he said. “This is unbearable.”
