Rhodri Morgan statue ‘close to being commissioned’ after successful cash appeal

Martin Shipton

The ambition to erect a statue of former First Minister Rhodri Morgan near the Senedd in Cardiff Bay is close to being realised with the launch of a competition to design a bronze figurative sculpture of him.

Mr Morgan, who had previously been the MP for Cardiff West, served as First Minister from 2000 until 2009.

Many credit him as having rescued the then National Assembly from potential oblivion following a shaky start to Welsh devolution when Alun Michael defeated him in a Welsh Labour leadership election widely seen as unfair.

Tony Blair

Despite winning the majority support of party members, Mr Morgan lost the contest because most unions affiliated to the party backed Mr Michael, who was backed by Prime Minister Tony Blair, without balloting their members.

Under Mr Morgan’s leadership, Welsh Labour introduced free bus travel for the over-60s and free prescriptions for all.

Following his death in 2017, friends decided to launch a fundraising appeal for a statue in his memory. The pandemic slowed down progress towards achieving the target, but enough money has now been raised to commission the statue.

Cross-party politicians

Among the Ambassadors for the fund are cross-party politicians including former Cardiff West MP, Kevin Brennan, former First Minister Mark Drakeford, current and former Welsh Government ministers Lesley Griffiths and Jane Hutt, former Secretary of State for Wales Lord Paul Murphy, former Plaid Cymru MS Dai Lloyd, former Tory MS David Melding and Labour peer Baroness Debbie Wilcox, the former leader of Newport council. The appeal has been coordinated by Cardiff Labour councillor Dilwar Ali.

Mr Brennan, a close friend of Mr Morgan’s and his former constituency office chief of staff, has previously said that what persuaded him to support the statue appeal was the certain knowledge that Mr Morgan would not have wanted one.

Ambitions

A statement from the Rhodri Morgan Statue Team said: “On December 9 2024 we launched a competition for the commission to design and fabricate a bronze figurative sculpture of Wales’ former First Minister, Rhodri Morgan. The competition is being managed on our behalf by the public art consultants Studio Response of Cardiff. They have compiled a Brief to Artist which sets out our requirements, hopes and ambitions and explains how to apply. They have invited established figurative artists / sculptors to express interest in this exciting opportunity

“We shall be shortlisting in January 2025 and briefing the shortlisted sculptors in February 2025. Shortlisted candidates will be asked to present their concept designs and maquettes to us in May 2025 when it is planned to appoint one sculptor to take the commission forward. We hope to install the sculpture in July 2026.

“This is an exciting moment. We are taking a significant step towards the creation and erection of a sculpture which we hope will still be there 100 years hence.”

Giving details of the money raised, the statement said: “Before the dinner at the Hotel Mercure (Cardiff North) on September 13, we had just short of £90,000 in the Statue Fund. Sale of dinner tickets, sponsorships, the auctions and the raffle at the dinner raised a net profit of £7,363. However, in a most generous gesture, two donors who have supported the campaign from the outset, who prefer not to be named, have topped this figure up to £10,000 and this means that together with some further smaller donations and bank interest, we can announce that we have passed the £100,000 mark.

“We are deeply grateful to everybody who has contributed to this magnificent effort.

However, this sum is not in itself sufficient to meet the cost of creating and installing the sculpture which we estimate at £110,000 plus VAT.. We have a dinner planned for Edinburgh on April 24 2025 and another in London during July 2025. Further details will, of course, be circulated in due course.

“Throughout the time of the appeal, local groups have organised events which have raised smaller sums and this has made a big contribution to the fund. The Black Asian and Minority Ethnic community are again leading the way. They are together planning a fundraising event on Friday April 11 2025 at Llandaff North Rugby Club, Cardiff.”