DWYFOR and Meirionnydd’s AM has been criticised for “only speaking a measly 150 words a week” in the Senedd.

Statistics, released by Cymdeithas yr Iaith recently, make damning reading for Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas who won his seat with Plaid Cymru in May 2016 but acrimoniously split from the party just a few months later to become an independent.

In a recent reshuffle Lord Elis-Thomas became minister for culture, tourism and sport – a deputy to economy secretary Ken Skates.

However constituent Arthur Davies, who lives in Porthmadog, does not feel he is being represented by the veteran politician.

“This week we learnt, via a campaign group, the amount of words spoken by each Assembly Member in the Siambr in the National Assembly,” wrote Arthur.

“This reflects the amount of work that each assembly member does representing their constituents – challenging the government and raising matters of local importance.

“The worst performing AM – the one who spoke the least amount of words since the 2016 election, was unsurprisingly UKIP’s Nathan Gill.

“The second worse performer was Dafydd Ellis-Thomas.

“Since May 2016 he has only spoken a measly 11,345 words. That’s approximately 150 words a week. I speak more words to my children as I send them to school every morning!

“Being a minister is no excuse. His constituents still need representation, and other ministers have a far better speaking record, the people of this area deserve better.”

When questioned about the criticisms, a spokesperson for Lord Elis-Thomas’ office replied: “The minister doesn’t wish to respond on this occasion”.