Hain says Eluned Morgan best to take the ‘tough gig’ of First Minister

Martin Shipton

Former Welsh Secretary Peter Hain has told NationCymru that Eluned Morgan is the best person to take on the “tough gig” of First Minister.

He said Welsh Labour should see the recent general election results – where despite increasing its number of seats in Wales by five to 27, saw a dip in its share of the vote in comparison with the previous election in 2019 – as a wake-up call.

Lord Hain, who represented Neath in the House of Commons from 1991 to 2015 and had two stints as Secretary of State for Wales in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, said: “Usually there’s a lower vote for Labour in Senedd elections than in general elections and it’s important that we address that in the run-up to the next Senedd election in 2026.

‘Worst results’

“We’ve been used to getting good results in Wales at general elections, but this year we had some of the worst results in Britain in terms of the proportion of votes.

“Anyone who knows anything about politics knows that it’s a tough time for incumbents at the moment, in Europe and across the world. In Wales we need in particular to reconnect with people who would traditionally have been our core supporters in deindustrialised areas – the kind of places described as red wall seats.

“At the Senedd Labour has been in charge for 25 years, and inevitably that has resulted in managerialism taking over from radicalism to a certain extent. I think it’s time we had renewal and I’m sure Eluned is the best person to achieve that. She has a wealth of political experience and an understanding of Wales.”

Challenge

When it was put to Lord Hain that the NHS in Wales was not in a good place, and that Baroness Morgan had failed during her time as Health Minister to bring waiting times down, he said: “Social care in Wales is better than in England, for example, but I accept that waiting times in Wales are a challenge. I know that Eluned understands that, and that she will make it a priority to bring waiting times down.”

Lord Hain didn’t want to comment on the circumstances that led to Baroness Morgan taking over the leadership of Welsh Labour, although he did say: “Under a succession of leaders – Rhodri Morgan, Carwyn Jones and Mark Drakeford – we avoided dissension with the Labour group, and now I think Eluned is the person to take the group and the party forward in a spirit of unity.”

Many were surprised when Jeremy Miles, who was ready ro stand for the leadership of Welsh Labour again, decided to withdraw and back Eluned Morgan instead.

It is understood that he did so after being persuaded that he would not be able to defeat Baroness Morgan in a contest. Supporters of Vaughan Gething were adamant that Mr Miles should not be gifted the First Ministership because of their perception that he had hastened Mr Gething’s resignation by being one of four members of the Cabinet to resign their posts.

It is thought likely that Mr Miles will be offered a senior Cabinet post by Baroness Morgan,although it is unclear whether the three others who resigned – Mick Antoniw, Lesley Griffiths and Julie James – will be invited to return.