Just look at Wales, says Drakeford
WELSH Labour Leader and First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford will today urge the Labour Party to draw inspiration from those parts of the UK where Labour is already in power – including Wales.
Speaking at the Labour Party conference in Brighton, he will say that Labour works for millions of people across the UK every day and highlight the difference a Labour government has made for Wales over the past 22 years
In his speech to the conference, Mark Drakeford is expected to say: “This conference is a chance to remind ourselves that despite being out of government at Westminster, Labour is in power, making a difference that only Labour can make, every single day, in places and communities right across Britain.
“When a political party has been out of power, at the UK level, for an extended period of time, then the need for soulsearching is obvious and necessary. It is right that we look hard at what we can and must do to win power again at Westminster. There’s a temptation to look at the world through only a Westminster telescope and ask, ‘What went wrong?’
“But we should look at Labour’s many success stories across England, Scotland and Wales and understand what that tells us about how Labour can win the next general election.
“In those success stories we find a compelling answer to one of the most difficult challenges which all opposition parties face – even if our policies are popular, how can voters be confident that the party can translate those ideas into practice? The answer is: because we are already doing it, and doing it at scale, in large parts of the UK – in parliaments, town halls and mayoral offices across the land.
“From Manchester to Rhondda Cynon Taf, Dagenham to Swansea – across the country Labour is in power, standing up for individuals and communities and building innovative public services for the 21st century.”
The conference in Brighton is Labour’s first public gathering since Welsh Labour equalled its best-ever elections for the Senedd in May, and won the North Wales Police & Crime Commissioner for the first time.