The deputy minister who has been the face of the default 20mph speed limit in Wales has laid out the daily abuse he faces, saying he gets multiple messages every day "which are full of hate". in a park on Saturday someone approached Lee Waters in a park and shouted, calling him an "idiot".
The Labour MS, who represents Llanelli, said he has had to develop a "thick skin" to abuse. Speaking to ITV Cymru Wales' Sharp End the deputy minister said the time since the law was brought in has not been "much fun".
"But I take some comfort from the fact to look back to when Belisha beacons were introduced, in the mid-1930s, they were vandalised. The Home Secretary who brought them in was pilloried. Barbara Castle who brought in the breathalyser had death threats. There was huge pushback against seatbelts when they were brought in in the early 80s.
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"Whenever you make change there's always resistance. When you make change regarding cars on the road there's more so because people feel it's part of their identity and their freedom and so you're going to get a section of the population who feel very angry and frustrated by it.
"I had a man come up to me in the park in Llanelli on Saturday come up and shout at me in the park and said I'm an idiot and nobody likes me and they hate this rule and I'm penalising motorists and I'm going to lose my seat and all this. So you get that. You also do get people coming up to you saying: 'I hated it when it came in but I've just been on the speed awareness course and I get it. It's the right thing to do.' So, you know, it's hard.
"You're still a human being and you pick me and I bleed. I get multiple messages every day which are full of hate. That weighs you down.
"People say to me: 'You're only doing it to make a name for yourself'. I say: 'You're having a laugh. If I'm getting this much hate why would I want to do that for if I'm just doing it for some glory hunting?' I'm not doing it for that. I'm doing it because I think it's the right thing to do and I think the evidence backs it up. And, you know, we always hear people say we want politicians to be braver and then when they are braver, they get pilloried for that," he said. For the latest politics news in Wales sign up to our newsletter here.
"I'm somebody who passionately believes in devolution. I campaigned in 1997 for the referendum. I helped lead the campaign in 2011 for extra powers. I've made my life here, trying to do things that make things better, and ultimately coming into politics and I've done that for sincere reasons of principle and integrity.
"One of the reasons I believe in devolution is because I believe politicians should be closer to the communities they serve. I think they should be open, accessible, and accountable. "II have started blocking some people on social media just from a mental health point of view. It's the tsunami of it is just overwhelming. I've never done it before but I started doing it and people are upset about that. But there's a price to pay but that's being a grown up isn't it? You make choices and choices have consequences."
