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Has Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens been lobbying for Vaughan Gething to get a peerage?

30 Aug 2024 5 minute read
Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer (centre left) Vale of Glamorgan candidate Kanisha Narayan (centre right), First Minister of Wales Vaughan Gething (far left) and shadow Welsh secretary Jo Stevens (far right) on Barry seafront after the launch of Labour’s six steps for change in Wales. Photo Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

Martin Shipton

Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens has been lobbying for disgraced former First Minister Vaughan Gething to be given a seat in the House of Lords, Nation.Cymru has been told by a political source.

But while Ms Stevens herself has not responded to our questions on the matter, the suggestion that she has been pushing for Mr Gething to get a peerage has been denied vehemently by a UK Government source.

Mr Gething resigned as First Minister in July following a succession of scandals. He accepted donations totalling £200,000 from a waste group whose owner David Neal had been given two suspended prison sentences for dumping toxic sludge in the precious landscape of the Gwent Levels

It later emerged that the group was under investigation for underpaying landfill tax to the Welsh Government by wrongly classifying the kinds of waste it was dumping.

Nation.Cymru also published the screenshot of a message from a ministerial iMessage chat that showed Mr Gething admitting that he was deleting messages because they would be disclosable under freedom of information laws. He failed to mention this in sworn evidence to the UK Covid Inquiry, claiming messages had been deleted when his phone was being “refitted” by the Senedd’s IT department.

Sacked

Subsequently Mr Gething sacked Social Partnership Minister Hannah Blythyn, accusing her of leaking the screenshot to Nation.Cymru. Ms Blythyn has consistently denied being the source of the leak, and Nation.Cymru took the unusual step of confirming it had not received the screenshot from her.

Mr Gething initially refused to resign as First Minister after a motion of no confidence in him was passed by the Senedd, but did so after four members of his Cabinet themselves quit and senior Labour figures urged him to go.

While Keir Starmer initially backed Mr Gething, the Labour Party came to recognise that he was more of a liability than an asset.

This week Nation.Cymru reported how Mr Gething had told his successor as First Minister Eluned Morgan that he was “ready to serve” in her Cabinet if she offers him a job in a reshuffle expected in September.

We also understand that Mr Gething has told people he would like a seat in the House of Lords and a ministerial job in the UK Labour government.

The suggestion that he could make a swift return to government was not welcomed by senior Labour figures we spoke to.

‘Conversations’

A reliable political source subsequently contacted us to say: “I have been told by three separate people that Jo Stevens has been pressing the case for Vaughan Gething to go to the House of Lords. One said she had been overheard having conversations to that effect in the Wales Office. Such representations would have been made to Number 10.”

A senior Labour source with no knowledge of such representations told us: “In normal circumstances, it would not be remarkable for a Secretary of State for Wales to suggest a peerage for a former First Minister, but these are not normal circumstances, and it would indicate poor judgement on Jo Stevens’ part to do so.”

Before they became elected politicians, Ms Stevens and Mr Gething worked together at Thompsons Solicitors in Cardiff, and they remain close friends.

We sent the following questions to Ms Stevens’ office:

* Has Vaughan Gething made any representations, in writing or verbally, directly or indirectly, to Jo Stevens expressing his wish to be made a member of the House of Lords? If so, please detail the circumstances.

* Has Jo Stevens had any conversations with Labour Party or UK Government officials/SpAds [special advisers] about the prospect of Mr Gething getting a peerage? If so, what was said?

* Has she expressed the view to people working in 10 Downing Street or the Cabinet Office that Mr Gething should be offered a peerage? If so, to whom has she expressed such a view, and was that in writing or verbally?

* Does she recognise that she could have been overheard making comments supporting the idea that Mr Gething should be awarded a peerage?

* Does she think he should be offered a peerage?

* During the scandals surrounding Mr Gething that came to light earlier this year, Jo Stevens offered no criticism of him. Does she believe he did nothing wrong?

* Does Jo Stevens believe Mr Gething should be offered a role in the Welsh Government Cabinet?

‘Untrue’

Ms Stevens did not respond personally, but replying to the suggestion that she had lobbied for Mr Gething to get a peerage, a UK Government source said: “This is categorically untrue. The Welsh Secretary has made no representations on this. Any suggestion to the contrary is wrong and irresponsible. This government is serious about restoring the public’s trust in their representatives.”

On background, our attention was drawn to the fact that the Welsh Secretary has no role in deciding either appointments to the House of Lords or the Welsh Government.

We were also referred to earlier on-the-record statements made by Ms Stevens that had been supportive of Mr Gething.


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Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
3 months ago

Turn our representation in the House of Fun into a Punch and Judy show…!

Why vote
Why vote
3 months ago

That really would be promotion through failure.

Old Curmudgeon
Old Curmudgeon
3 months ago

I find it hard to believe that such an inept thoughtless out of touch liability would ever be considered for any reward at all. And then I thought of Boris J, Liz T, and many many politicians and decided that the bar is so low that it could be true.

Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
3 months ago

The ‘Thompson Twins’, come on somebody, explain what is going on here…?

Billy James
Billy James
3 months ago

If true yet another example of Welsh Labour contempt for the Welsh electorate…

Nia James
Nia James
3 months ago

Labour has always been the party of nepotism and blithering corruption, where mediocrity and back scratching goes a very long way.

John Ellis
John Ellis
3 months ago

‘Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens has been lobbying for disgraced former First Minister Vaughan Gething to be given a seat in the House of Lords, Nation.Cymru has been told by a political source.’ If this is true, it’s a complete disgrace. The Tories lost power in Westminster at the beginning of July in no small part because voters across Britain had become disgusted by the cynical and self-serving politics of Johnson’s time in office. If Stevens has indeed been lobbying for Gething to be ennobled, she’s demonstrating that, however she may posture, she’s really not much different from… Read more »

Barry Bosman
Barry Bosman
3 months ago

Which messages were deleted?

Another Richard
Another Richard
3 months ago

Mr Gething seems to show a stunning absence of self-awareness. If an attempt were made to nominate him, I would hope that the House of Lords Appointments Commission, which vets candidates for propriety, would squash the suggestion. (“Propriety” in this case means that (i) the individual is in good standing in the community in general and with the public regulatory authorities in particular; and (ii) the past conduct of the nominee would not reasonably be regarded as bringing the House of Lords into disrepute. Given that Mr Gething lost a vote of no confidence in the circumstances that he did… Read more »

Y Cymro
Y Cymro
3 months ago

Nothing surprises me anymore with corrupt unionist politicians. That hypocrite Neil Kinnock got a peerage so Vaughan Gething getting a reward for services to himself is part of the course. It’s to be expected. The Westminster establishment is rotten to its stinking core and its tainting the Senedd with association. Time to boot out the blight in 2026. Let’s end our Labour pains.

Last edited 3 months ago by Y Cymro
Frank
Frank
3 months ago

Is it April 1st?

Frank
Frank
3 months ago

“Yes, enough of this cronyism. It’s just another form of corruption, Friend’s with money and privilege patting each other on the back and giving themselves honours, medals, cushy jobs, dividends, bonuses, so gross and disgusting!”

Welsh Patriot
Welsh Patriot
3 months ago

The more I hear about Vaughan Gething and his underhand antics the more I distrust the man.

Chris
Chris
3 months ago
Reply to  Welsh Patriot

He is every bit as bad as the self-serving tories he pretends to hate.

hdavies15
hdavies15
3 months ago

If Jo Stevens is involved in this scam then she too is tainted as corrupt and lacking any sense of right or wrong.

Old Curmudgeon
Old Curmudgeon
3 months ago

I’m trying not to get cross over this story because after all it’s not yet been authenticated. But it does has a ring of truth about it. I hope the other Welsh politicians make a noise about this and get our new Queen to answer for her predecessor.

robin campbell
robin campbell
3 months ago

Lord Gething of Llandomen? Any other suggestions ?

Padi Phillips
Padi Phillips
3 months ago
Reply to  robin campbell

Lord Gething of Nant-y-Cach?

Last edited 3 months ago by Padi Phillips
robin campbell
robin campbell
3 months ago

Or Llandomen Fawr

Welshman28
Welshman28
3 months ago

Jo Stevens is an utter disgrace . She has proved time after time how twofaced she is. She has completely mislead the steelworkers at Tata and businesses around the town . BBC wales also have shown her blatant misleading and clear evidence she does NOT answer any questions. Labour followers in Wales should hand their heads if they continue to back this deceitful politician

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