Keir Starmer to join Mark Drakeford in Wales to ‘build on election success’
Labour Leader Keir Starmer and First Minister Mark Drakeford will visit the north of Wales today as the party looks to build on its success at the Senedd election
Earlier this month, Welsh Labour saw off a challenge from the Conservatives across the north in its so called ‘Red Wall’ seats, some of which it had lost in Westminster election of 2019.
The party also gained the post of North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, with the victory of Andy Dunbobbin.
The two leaders will visit businesses in the region to talk about the action the new Welsh Government says it is already taking to protect jobs, deliver a world-leading vaccine rollout.
It also says it will begin the most comprehensive health and education catch up programme in the history of devolution.
‘Pandemic’
Ahead of the visit, Keir Starmer said: “People across Wales have put their faith in Welsh Labour and Mark Drakeford to lead Wales out of the pandemic.
“Here in North Wales, I’ve met people and businesses who valued what Welsh Labour were doing in government, and so voted for that work to continue.
“Both Mark and I are determined to get the best for these communities and ensure they have first class representatives, in the Senedd and in Parliament, to take that work forward.
“I’m looking forward to speaking to local businesses, to hear first-hand about the support Welsh Labour has given through the pandemic. And later on, thanking some of our members for all the work they did to help deliver these great results for Welsh Labour and Wales.”
Mark Drakeford said: “I am grateful to people across North Wales for their support to keep moving Wales forward.
“We have already put into action the promises we made in the election. We have immediately released more financial support for businesses to continue helping them through the pandemic.
“We are setting out the most comprehensive plans for recovery in our NHS and schools. And we continue to rollout the quickest vaccination programme in the world.
“As I said when I launched our manifesto, we have so much to be optimistic about in Wales. We will achieve so much together, and that work begins here in North Wales.”
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Labour’s Senedd success was down to the Welsh electorate defending its own government against a charlatan. If Labour win in England, Wales will disappear from their radar quicker than you can say “peerage”.
I’ve a suspicion that Starmer wants to visit simply in order to find out what he ought to have done in the run up to the 6th of May.
His motivation aside, I think we have more pressing problems than being ignored by a future English Labour government.
It may be that the best way to deal with the immediate problem of Bojo and his little gang is for three parts of the UK to carry the fight beyond our borders and to support (or create?) an effective opposition in Westminster. Starmer isn’t doing very well on his own.
If I were Mark Drakeford I would tell Starmer to keep clear. Welsh Labour won partly because activists were wiling to campaign on the record of Welsh Labour in office. I suspect they won’t be as active in campaigning for Starmer.