Poll shows only 17% support Severn Bridge name change to the ‘Prince of Wales Bridge' and petition in opposition continues to grow

The petition against the renaming of the second Severn Crossing to the Prince of Wales Bridge is now approaching 40,000 signatures. This makes it one of the biggest petitions in the history of  Welsh politics. Despite this the Westminster Government’s Welsh Secretary, Alun Cairns MP, had said that the “wider, silent majority is absolutely with us” on renaming the bridge. However, this claim has now been discredited after a YouGov opinion poll commissioned by Nation.Cymru found that only 17% of people in Wales support the name change.  Of those just 7% ‘strongly supported’ the name change. A further 10% ‘tended to support’ the change. Twice the number, 34%, opposed renaming the bridge, with opposition to the plan in Cardiff, standing at 51%.

Severn Crossing is a term used to refer to the two motorway crossings over the River Severn estuary between England and Wales. The unilateral UK government decision to rename a major road bridge across the River Severn (Welsh: Afon Hafren) after Prince Charles has drawn considerable criticism in Wales. The petition in opposition to the renaming of the second Severn Crossing continues to grow. The renaming has been described as a sycophantic display of forelock-tugging towards the English royal family. Many point out that if the bridge is to be renamed then it should represent someone or something of particular cultural significance to Wales, and done in consultation with the people.