‘TODAY WE TURN THE PAGE IN THE BOOK OF OUR NATION’S HISTORY’
Vaughan Gething wins Welsh Labour leadership vote, paving the way for him to become the first black leader of any country in Europe next week
VAUGHAN Gething has been elected as the next Welsh Labour leader and is set to become first minister, the first black leader of any European country.
Welsh Labour members chose Mr Gething, 49, to be their next party leader, succeeding Mark Drakeford, who has held the position since 2018.
Mr Gething beat his only rival, the education minister Jeremy Miles.
Welsh Labour said Mr Gething achieved 51.7% of the vote to Mr Miles’ 48.3%. In total, 57.8% of members voted and 9.4% of affiliates, giving an overall turnout of 16.1%.
The current minister for the economy, Mr Gething is expected to be declared the country’s fifth leader since the National Assembly for Wales, now called the Senedd, was established in 1999.
A vote will be held in the Senedd on Wednesday when he looks set to take over as first minister.
He is likely, within days, to reshuffle the cabinet, with some notable departures expected.
There could be a return to cabinet for Ken Skates, who was co-campaign chair and a key supporter of Mr Gething.
Addressing Labour’s membership, Mr Gething said: “Today we turn the page in the book of our nation’s history. A history that we write together.
“Not just because I have the honour of becoming the first black leader in any European country, but because the generational dial has jumped too.
“Devolution is not something that I have had to get used to or adapt to or apologise for. Devolution – Welsh solutions to Welsh problems and opportunities – is in my blood, it’s what I’ve always known through my adult political life, and that is the same for a growing number of our citizens.
“I want us to use this moment as a starting point, for a more confident march into the future.
“A march into the future on behalf of the generation that too often is being asked to pick up the pieces and the bill for those who came before them.”
He said in adversity the Welsh cannot be matched, “fighting tooth and nail” for the impossible to happen.
“Wales has every right to be confident, Yma o Hyd (still here) is no longer enough.
“Of course we’re still here, we have always been here, we always will be here.”
He also offered praise for his predecessor, Mr Drakeford and opponent, Mr Miles.
He described Mr Drakeford as the “right leader at the right time”, with a “forensic approach” to public policy through the pandemic.
On Mr Miles, he said he hoped “once the dust settled” they would be friends.
The handover in power comes as Wales faces a challenging time, including farmers protesting, NHS waiting lists hitting record highs and an economy recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.
Only Welsh Labour members or those part of an affiliated organisation, such as a trade union, were able to participate in the vote, meaning about 100,000 people were able to take part.
Mr Gething had the backing of most of the large unions, and Lord Kinnock, who led the UK party from 1983 to 1992.
Mr Miles saw support from the majority of the Labour members of the Senedd.
The leadership race has not been without controversy, most of which has centred on Mr Gething.
There have been a string of concerns raised around £200,000 of donations to him from a company which was found guilty of environmental offences in January.
Atlantic Recycling, which is part of Dauson Environmental Group and controlled by David Neal, gave Mr Gething £100,000 on December 18, 2023, and £100,000 on January 11.
Atlantic Recycling was also fined £300,000 for the death of one of its workers in February after it pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety at work rules.
Earlier this week, it was revealed Mr Gething had lobbied regulators in favour of the company, asking Natural
Resources Wales to ease restrictions on Atlantic Recycling in 2016.
Mr Gething and his team have always insisted the donation was declared in line with Senedd and Electoral Commission rules and that the minister is committed to transparency.
The decision to take the money was branded “unfortunate” by Carwyn Jones, a former first minister of Wales, who told the BBC that “lessons there need to be learned”.
Speaking after his election victory, Mr Gething said: “Everyone has lessons to learn about the past and the future. And Carwyn would say the same about himself as well.
“I had a good conversation with him earlier, when you’re making choices in government, you’ve got to be prepared to make choices and to reflect on whether you think they’ve been the right thing to do.
“If you can’t learn then you’re not going to be the right person, not just to lead the government, but you can’t be the right person in politics, because that’s part of what life teaches you.”
Asked if he would return the money, Mr Gething did not answer the question, instead stressing he has always followed the rules for donations, and it has been properly reported to the Electoral Commission and the Senedd.
“None of my manifesto has changed or been reduced back,” he added.
“I’m very clear in my manifesto, that we want to see further penalties for firms that breach their environmental obligations and regulations.
“That’s my commitment, that’s what people can expect me to deliver.”
He said that was part of Labour’s plan to help the environment, stressing the need for more “green” jobs to help lift people out of poverty.
When asked how he will rebuild trust, he said: “You need to look at what I’ve said I’ll do in my manifesto, not just the green prosperity I think is coming, but also about the fact, as indeed Jeremy Miles said, we’ll have tougher environment policies.”
He added: “The message here isn’t about wanting to go back and recast
everything that’s happened, it’s what do we do now, how do we do it together, that we’re true to the values we say we have, the policies we set out, that’s how we unite people and recognise I’m still the person I was six months, 12 months or five years ago.
“I think everyone who has a concern will look at who I am, the fact I abided by all the rules, reported it properly, did it all properly as I should according to what the rules are and then I am going to set out the sort of government I think Welsh Labour members and our wider trade union family can be really proud of.
“And I’ll be reaching across the group, across the movement to be clear that I want members to unite behind me, and around me, as indeed my supporters would have done if it hadn’t been the result I wanted today.
“What we have in common matters, the enemies are not within the Welsh Labour family and movement.
“The real challenge we have to our future is to remove the Tories from
Downing Street and have a fundamentally different approach to the UK and the way we can deliver for Wales, that’s what I’m looking forward to doing.”
Speaking about winning the vote, he said: “It’s a great honour and at the end of a very long campaign, the opportunity to make a really big difference in what is an extraordinary year ahead of us.
“There must be a general election, and I’m desperate for the opportunity to work with a UK Labour government to move away from the stale but regular arguments from a UK Government that’s hostile to pretty much everything we want to do.
“There’s a different opportunity ahead of us and I can make a really big difference to families and communities up and down Wales.”
On what he wants to achieve as first minister, he said: “What I want to be able to achieve is that Wales is a more prosperous and fairer country and even more confident about our future.
“I meant what I said in those remarks. We, of course, are still here but we need to have more ambition and belief about what that will look like.
“And there is a green jobs revolution that will come to us over this next decade. Getting that right over the next 10 years will make a massive difference to the sort of future we have and the sort of Wales we’ll be able to create in the future.”
Talking about his ambitions for the first day in office, Mr Gething said he needed to put together a government with people “from across our group”.
He added: “I look forward to making offers to people on each side of the contest we have had and then to have a united and capable Welsh Labour government, because we have faced some really significant challenges.”
Mr Gething also said this was a chance for opportunity, with a general election this year, which he said could “fundamentally change what we are able to do”, particularly if Labour gets into power in Westminster.
He promised to “listen to the public” on many of the more controversial policies that have arisen in the Welsh Government, including the 20mph speed limit policy and farming subsidies. He said he understood why farming communities are anxious, with there being less money available since the UK left the EU.
“We’ve got to design a scheme together,” he said. “And the consultation has just ended, so we need to look at what’s come from that and then to see what we can do together.”
Mr Drakeford is not expected to stand down immediately, with his final First Minister’s Questions on Tuesday. A vote will also need to take place in the Senedd at which opposition groups can put forward their own candidates. With Labour the largest party, it is unlikely any other group would take the role.
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said: “I congratulate Vaughan Gething on winning the Welsh Labour leadership election.
“If elected first minister on
Wednesday as expected, his party’s own record means he inherits significant challenges.
“He has sat around the cabinet table and held key portfolios while Wales’ economy has stagnated, NHS waiting lists have grown, and child poverty remains a national scandal.
“Nothing said during the leadership campaign suggests that we will now see a gear-change in addressing these huge challenges.
“But he also brings his own personal issues. It is a matter of deep concern that we now have an incoming first minister who before even taking up the highest public office is facing serious allegations and questions about his judgment.
“At the very least, Vaughan Gething should surely return the £200,000 campaign donation which has rightly drawn so much criticism from within his own party and beyond.
“This is not as good as it gets for Wales. The people of Wales deserve a party that has a real vision for the future, one that’s based on fairness and ambition, and that is what a vote for Plaid Cymru can offer.”
Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, offered his congratulations to Mr Gething, pledging to work with him on a range of issues.
He said: “I daresay it will be business as usual because he’s been cut of the same cloth as Mark Drakeford, but I offer this to Vaughan Gething.
“As he comes in as first minister, we’re happy to work with you as first minister to get rid of 20mph, to change the sustainable farming scheme and make sure there’s no more politicians coming to Cardiff Bay and to invest that money in the health service.”
Mr Davies accused Labour of having “a lot of extreme views” on its backbenches, promising to give Mr Gething the votes to “deliver common sense” and deliver improvements in the Welsh NHS, education and the economy.
“It’s time to deliver the people’s priorities,” he added.