Jane Dodds, Welsh Liberal Democrat Senedd Member for Mid & West Wales, has slammed “disgraceful” internet speeds in Pembrokeshire after new House of Commons research shows that both Preseli Pembrokeshire and Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire have some of the highest proportions of households on ‘very slow’ internet connections in the entirety of the UK.

According to data from Ofcom and the House of Commons Library, 12.2 per cent of homes in Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire have extremely slow internet access (below 10 Mb/s), while 11.9 per cent of households in Preseli Pembrokeshire fall into the same category.

The report also shows that both constituencies have well below average download speeds, with Preseli Pembrokeshire ranking 594/650 for average speeds at 49.9 Mb/s compared to a UK average of 86.5 Mb/s whilst Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire ranks 580/650 with average speeds of 51.8 Mb/s.

Commenting Jane Dodds said: “It is absolutely disgraceful that Pembrokeshire is yet again being left behind the rest of the country when it comes to broadband access.

“Good internet access and fast broadband speeds are more vital than ever with the rise of home working and increasing numbers of small start-ups.

“If we are to attract more businesses and investment to Pembrokeshire we need better digital connectivity.

“The Conservative Government in Westminster urgently needs to prioritise increasing internet speeds in rural Wales, but sadly they seem to be going in the opposite direction with the Chancellor Rishi Sunak having quietly scrapped the key Conservative manifesto ‘to give all homes across the UK superfast broadband by 2025’ in winter 2020.

“We would also like to see the Labour-Plaid Cymru administration in the Senedd to use the limited powers over broadband they have to use the Superfast Cymru programme to close the rural-urban gap in Wales, or else we will only see the digital divide between Cardiff and rest of Wales continue to grow.”