Fury as Plaid Cymru candidate for £80k job says ‘I can’t work 9 to 5’ | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Anger has erupted on-line after a video was shared of a Plaid Cymru candidate suggesting she can be unable to work conventional hours regardless of standing for a Senedd function set to pay near £80,000. This comes as salaries for members of the Senedd are resulting from rise considerably after the 2026 election. The Senedd’s impartial remuneration board has confirmed the bottom wage for politicians can be £79,817 following the election, up from £67,694 initially of the present time period in 2021, with additional will increase for these holding senior positions.

Kayleigh Unitt is the third place candidate for the Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales in Fflint Wrecsam within the Senedd Cymru elections. A social media influencer with a big on-line following, she has used her platform to focus on native issues and interact youthful voters who are sometimes much less concerned in conventional political campaigning. She has constructed a platform of over 119,000 followers and sometimes shares her personal life on-line together with her personal experiences with a persistent sickness as a part of her incapacity advocacy.

In a video shared on social media, candidate Kayleigh Unitt, who’s standing in Fflint-Wrecsam stated her well being prevents her from committing to a standard working sample. In the clip she spoke about what dwelling with a incapacity means. She stated: “I would love to work a 9 to 5, but my health just won’t let me.”

“When it comes to like oh we’ll go out and we’ll canvas, I would love to commit to doing every single session but I’m not reliable because my health is not reliable.”

She added: “We don’t live in a society that is set up for me to exist at a 9 to 5 level.

“I believe it is the billionaires who really do not wish to work trigger they only rake within the cash. They do not do something do they. They’re all constructing rockets to go away.”

The remarks have drawn criticism online, with some questioning whether someone who cannot commit to regular hours should seek elected office.

A social media user called Jonathan Wong, who shared the clip online, wrote: “If she wins her seat, she can be on an £80,000 wage, not working 9 to five for her constituents. Can’t watch for the celebratory TikTok dance movies although…”

Another added: “Meanwhile, her constituents can be working 8am-6pm days every week on 30 grand a yr whereas she’s dancing round doing f**ok all on 80 grand a yr.”

Another commented: “She would like to work 9 to five, but a variety of us HAVE to work 9 to five, and extra, simply to bloody exist.”

Others were more sympathetic to the challenges facing Ms Unitt.

One social media user using the name Hugh_Jolley said: “I believe she’s describing psychological well being points. Depression and anxiousness might be debilitating and play havoc along with your life. It is not a 24/7 presentation. It is peaks and troughs. It is nothing to do along with her upbringing & we should not ridicule folks for his or her honesty when speaking about these items.

“Whilst her hours may not be consistent 9-5, the overall effort may well be equal to or greater than others. We shouldn’t write these people off for flexible working hours.”

A Plaid Cymru spokesperson hit again on the outrage, insisting that Ms Unitt’s openness concerning the influence of her situation ought to be celebrated, revealing that she had sadly been on the receiving finish of a tirade of abuse following her feedback.

The spokesperson stated: “Kayleigh has been open about living with a disability and how it can affect her energy and working patterns. That transparency should be recognised as a strength, not used to question her worth.

“Disability is a protected attribute, and implying that disabled persons are much less deserving of public workplace or truthful pay dangers reinforcing outdated and dangerous stereotypes.”

Because the 2026 election makes use of a ‘closed proportional record system,’ voters in Fflint-Wrecsam will vote for a celebration moderately than a person. If Plaid Cymru wins sufficient of the vote share in that area to safe three seats, Unitt can be elected to the Senedd.

Fflint-Wrecsam is considered one of 16 new six-member constituencies created as a part of the Senedd reform which elevated the entire variety of members from 60 to 96.