20mph minister to leave role and delete X account

The Welsh government minister who steered Wales’s controversial default 20mph speed limit rollout has said he will step down from his role in a fortnight.

Lee Waters

Lee Waters, the deputy minister for transport, said he had spent “far too much time on Twitter” over the past 15 years and the social media platform “stopped being fun a while ago”.

“I now get a pile of malign comments for even the most innocuous posts,” he added.

“When I leave my transport role in a fortnight I’ll be deleting my account. Elon [Musk] can shove it up his X.”

The next first minister of Wales will be announced on 16 March and is expected to make changes to the Welsh government’s cabinet.

Mr Waters survived a vote of confidence in the Senedd last year, which was called after the rollout of the default limit in September.

Explainer: Why has the default speed limit changed in Wales?

A petition opposing the policy became the most-signed on the Senedd’s website.

The Welsh government says attitudes towards the policy are changing and its introduction would “save lives”.

Economy minister Vaughan Gething and education minister Jeremy Miles are the two in the running to succeed Mark Drakeford, who announced his resignation in December.

Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives – the largest opposition party in the Senedd – claimed motorists and business owners across Wales would “breathe a sigh of relief”.

“The deputy minister’s time in post has been characterised by one anti-motorist policy after another, slowing Wales down and doing serious damage to our economy,” he added.