Left AM ‘may bid to be Carwyn successor’
ALEFT-WING AM has confirmed he may be a candidate to succeed Carwyn Jones when the First Minister and Welsh Labour leader eventually stands down.
Mike Hedges, who represents Swansea East and is a former leader of the city’s council, said left-wing members of the 29-strong Labour group at the National Assembly would definitely be fielding a candidate.
There is a widespread assumption that Mr Jones will stand down in 2019 after 10 years in the job and sufficiently in advance of the next Assembly election in 2021 to enable the new leader to settle in and put their stamp on the administration.
Mr Hedges told us: “There are four of us on the left who could stand – Mick Antoniw, Mark Drakeford, John Griffiths and myself – as well as a couple of others who haven’t declared their support for Jeremy Corbyn publicly. There will definitely be a left candidate.”
Asked what distinctive policies would be put forward by a left candidate, he said: “It’s too early to say. We don’t know what the political situation will be in two years’ time. It’s greatly different now from what it was two years ago, of course.”
Mr Antoniw, the AM for Pontypridd, is the Welsh Government’s Counsel General, Mr Drakeford, the AM for Cardiff West, is the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, and Mr Griffiths, who represents Newport East, is a former Counsel General and Environment Minister.
Mr Hedges added: “Carwyn has been promoting two candidates from his wing of the party. It’s important that party members have a choice.”
He confirmed that the two colleagues he was referring to were Vaughan Gething, the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport, and Ken Skates, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure.
Mr Hedges, who is a former college lecturer, confirmed he would be speaking at forthcoming meetings of the Ceredigion and Arfon constituency Labour parties, but said that shouldn’t be seen as part of a leadership bid.
“I haven’t asked anyone to support me as leader,” he said.
“I’m going to Ceredigion because one of my former students is a member of the party there, and to Arfon because my daughter is starting at Bangor University.
“Most people say that 10 years is about the maximum period for a political leader and that’s also the assumption with Carwyn.”