Hain says Eluned Morgan best to take the ‘tough gig’ of First Minister
![](https://nation.cymru/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/1024px-Official_portrait_of_Lord_Hain_crop_2_2019-1.jpg)
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.
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You must be joking or have private medical insurance…
By now it looks like she’s pretty much all that they’ve got. So we’ll have to see how it goes.
In 1999, Peter Hain’s namesake, Mandelson, said Labour could take their voters for granted because “they’ve got nowhere else to go”
Learn from the last 20+ years, Mr Hain
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-last-thing-we-need-is-the-return-of-mr-mandelson-1100539.html
The Labour party in Wales are clinging onto power by their fingernails. Their track record in office has been very poor. Under their leadership Wales is the poorest country in the UK and one of the poorest in Europe. Similarly under Eluned Morgan’s leadership we have the worst performing NHS in the UK. Why should anyone have confidence that she and her motley crew are going to be able to lead the country into prosperity. She and they clearly dont have the skills. As a party Labour in Wales have proven themselves to be incompetent and lacking vision, after 25… Read more »
“The Labour party in Wales are clinging onto power by their fingernails….We need a fresh start and a new type of government, only Plaid has that” – Labour just won the UK GE vote in Wales by a country mile while Plaid came fourth behind Reform! Before I have a pile on denouncing me as a Labour Pty stooge, I will probably vote Plaid in the Senedd elections. I just want to keep some perspective on the situation Plaid face in the face the misplaced hubris being pushed out by Plaid and some of its supporters.
Was this guy yet another of Saint Eluned’s father’s mates then……
As a great comedian once said some fantastic ideas go in to parliament then they are kicked to death and come out of parliament a shadow of their former self, this appears true except for Wales where crazy fantasy ideas mainly to make Wales a world leader/the first to do, these ideas go in to the senedd and come out worse, then passed by the entitled labour Wales without thaught to implementation, the population or cost, along with the slow decline in services the inability to manage infrastructure and the finances of a country. Then our politicians try to say… Read more »
And this from a man with a similar track record as the outgoing FM