Vaughan Gething elected as Welsh Labour leader
Vaughan Gething has been elected as the next Welsh Labour leader and is set to be elected as the First Minister of Wales.
He will become the first black leader of any European country.
Welsh Labour members have chosen Mr Gething, 50, to be their next party leader, succeeding Mark Drakeford, who has held the position since 2018.
Mr Gething beat his only rival, the education minister Jeremy Miles.
Welsh Labour said Vaughan Gething achieved 51.7% of the vote compared to rival Jeremy Miles with 48.3%.
In total, 57.8% of members voted and 9.4% of affiliates, giving an overall turnout of 16.1%.
The current minister for the economy, Mr Gething is expected to be declared the country’s fifth leader since the National Assembly for Wales, now called the Senedd, was established in 1999.
His appointment as Welsh Labour leader was announced on Saturday morning in a lecture hall at Cardiff University.
However, he will not take over as first minister until Wednesday – when a vote will be held in the Senedd.
‘Honour’
Addressing Labour’s membership, Mr Gething said: “Today we turn the page in the book of our nation’s history.
“A history that we write together.
“Not just because I have the honour of becoming the first black leader in any European country, but because the generational dial has jumped too.
“Devolution is not something that I have had to get used to or adapt to or apologise for.
“Devolution – Welsh solutions to Welsh problems and opportunities – is in my blood, it’s what I’ve always known through my adult political life, and that is the same for a growing number of our citizens.
“I want us to use this moment as a starting point, for a more confident march into the future.
“A march into the future on behalf of the generation that too often is being asked to pick up the pieces and the bill for those who came before them.”
He said in adversity the Welsh cannot be matched, “fighting tooth and nail” for the impossible to happen.
“Wales has every right to be confident, Yma o Hyd (still here) is no longer enough.
“Of course we’re still here, we have always been here, we always will be here.”
Praise
He also offered praise for his predecessor, Mr Drakeford and opponent, Mr Miles.
He described Mr Drakeford as the “right leader at the right time,” with a “forensic approach” to public policy through the pandemic.
On Mr Miles he said he hoped “once the dust settled” they would be friends.
He said: “Jeremy, the story that you have told, the example you have already set and the ideas that you have promoted in this campaign have already helped to change Wales for the better.”
The handover in power comes as Wales faces a challenging time, including farmers protesting, NHS waiting lists hitting record highs and an economy recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.
Only Welsh Labour members or part of an affiliated organisation, such as a trade union, were able to participate in the vote – meaning about 100,000 people were able to take part.
Mr Gething had the backing of most of the large unions, and Lord Kinnock, who led the UK party from 1983 to 1992.
While Mr Miles saw support from the majority of the Labour members of the Senedd.
Controversy
The leadership race has not been without controversy, most of which has centred on Mr Gething.
There have been a string of concerns raised around £200,000 of donations to Mr Gething from a company which was found guilty of environmental offences in January.
Atlantic Recycling, which is part of Dauson Environmental Group and controlled by David Neal, gave Mr Gething £100,000 on December 18 2023 and £100,000 on January 11 2024.
Atlantic Recycling was also fined £300,000 for one of its workers’ deaths in February after it pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety at work rules.
Earlier this week the BBC revealed that Mr Gething had lobbied regulators in favour of the company, asking Natural Resources Wales to ease restrictions on Atlantic Recycling in 2016.
Mr Gething and his team have always insisted the donation was declared in line with Senedd and Electoral Commission rules and that the minister is committed to transparency.
Early in the campaign concerns were also raised over the Unite union’s backing of Mr Gething, after his opponent was disqualified because he has never held “elected lay office as representatives of workers”.
Mr Miles said it was “a new rule that no-one was aware of” and that members were unhappy.
But Unite insisted it had carried out the nomination process correctly and Mr Gething said it was up to the union to determine its own democratic processes.
Unlike previous Labour leadership elections, all the votes are equally weighted.
Selection in the past has used an “electoral college” system, giving greater weight to MPs and Members of the Senedd.
Mr Drakeford is not expected to stand down immediately, with his final first minister’s questions on March 19.
Senedd vote
A vote will also need to take place in the Senedd at which opposition groups can put forward their own candidates.
With Labour the largest party, it is unlikely that any other group would take the role.
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth MS said: “I congratulate Vaughan Gething on winning the Welsh Labour leadership election.
“If elected First Minister on Wednesday as expected, his party’s own record means he inherits significant challenges.
“He has sat around the Cabinet table and held key portfolios while Wales’s economy has stagnated, NHS waiting lists have grown, and child poverty remains a national scandal. Nothing said during the leadership campaign suggests that we will now see a gear-change in addressing these huge challenges.
“But he also brings his own personal issues. It is a matter of deep concern that we now have an incoming First Minister who before even taking up the highest public office is facing serious allegations and questions about his judgment.
“At the very least, Vaughan Gething should surely return the £200,000 campaign donation which has rightly drawn so much criticism from within his own party and beyond.
“This is not as good as it gets for Wales. The people of Wales deserve a party that has a real vision for the future – one that’s based on fairness and ambition, and that is what a vote for Plaid Cymru can offer.”
Welsh Conservatives
Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, offered his congratulations to Mr Gething, pledging to work with him on a range of issues.
He said: “I daresay it will be business as usual because he’s been cut of the same cloth as Mark Drakeford, but I offer this to Vaughan Gething.
“As he comes in as First Minister, we’re happy to work with you as First Minister to get rid of 20MPH, to change the sustainable farming scheme and make sure there’s no more politicians coming to Cardiff Bay and to invest that money in the health service.”
Mr RT Davies accused Labour of having “a lot of extreme views” on its backbenches, promising to give Mr Gething the votes to “deliver common sense” and deliver improvements in the Welsh NHS, education and the economy.
“It’s time to deliver the people’s priorities,” he added.
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
So we will have someone who accepts loads of cash from a convicted eco defiler. Labour should be totally ashamed of itself. I expected better from that party, but they are as bad as Rishi’s lot with their racist source of cash.
Problem was that the information about this donation didn’t come out until after the voting had started. Normally most people vote as soon as they get their ballot. If the media had reported the issue earlier it may have made a difference to the result.
..and who controls the media in Wales?
What a shame his campaign is so tainted. His appointment does us no favours as we try to remove ourselvves further from Westminster sleeze. It aids those who think they are all the same and devalue or Senedd.
Well paid Mr Gething!
Speechless!! Says all we need to know about the state of the Labour Party and its branch in Wales. Corrupt in my opinion.
Problem was that the information about this donation didn’t come out until after the voting had started. Normally most people vote as soon as they get their ballot. If the media had reported the issue earlier it may have made a difference to the result.
Has Vaughan Gething ever held ‘elected lay office as a representative of Unite workers? I don’t think so!’
Could be good for independence.
A First Minister (if he’s elected) that will be Starmer’s Labour branch office lapdog rather than a First Minister who’d be treated like the Labour branch office’s door mat.
So we now have a corrupt politician in charge I wonder how long before his criminal backers Atlantic recycling get more contracts and keep breaking the law
A sad day for Welsh Politics.Everything that is questioned will be blamed on someone else! Much the same as his soon to be predesessor!!(Whose comments yesterday about those attending A& E were outrageous!
Our only alternative to build Plaid Cymru to unite our country so that we can remove this this present lot at the next Senedd election and give ourselves the respect in the world.
Only Plaid Cymru can beat labour party and unite our country.
It’s good that Wales is seen as a progressive nation but now Vaughan Gethin needs to start listening to the young members of the Welsh Labour party. It has been shown they believe in more power for Wales and a big percentage want independence. They are the future of the party and their argument will only grow stronger as the years go by.
Gething’s been able to hide in recent weeks, as scandal after scandal tarnished both his campaign and his credibility. He won’t be able to hide when he’s First Minister. He will be challenged on the disturbing matters that have come to light – and he’ll have to answer!
Who will do the challenging? Plaid Cymru ha ha ha
Judging by the statement issued by plaid”s leader immediately after the result was announced the answer to your question would appear to be yes. Nobody else in Wales is going to that’s for sure
With Vaughan Gething becoming Welsh Labour leader and the first black politician in Wales to lead a political party , in a perfect world colour & gender shouldn’t be an issue, but sadly we don’t live in a perfect world. And it doesn’t help that even before he became First Minister our new First Minister has been involved in political scandal. All I care about is results. Will Vaughan Gething make a difference to Welsh society and fight Wales corner against this oppressive aggressive centrist Conservative regime at Westminster? And will he also demand that would-be PM Keir Starmer devolve… Read more »
The first mixed race politician in Wales to lead a political party. Get the facts right.
The regime in westminster centrist?
You couldn’t get a fag paper between the tories and fascism, they have gone so far to the right!
The Act that established the Assembly in 1999 laid upon it a statutory duty to protect the environment – the only legislature in the world with such a statutory duty and consequent responsibility. Perhaps Mr Gethin, the Senedd members, MPs, his paymasters Unite and party members who voted for him, square this responsibility with some one who has accepted money from a criminal convicted of…serious environmental damage. And a message for Rhun ap Iorwerth. This whole episode leaves a nasty smell. Are you going to continue to prop up a government led by such a man or continue to be… Read more »
Of course he will. Mr ap Iorwerth will continue doing what he has always done since leading Plaid Cymru. Fighting for a third bridge for Ynys Mon, knowing full well it will never happen. Asking for ‘fair’ funding from Westminster, grumble about the odd Labour policy, kick the independence can down the road, and continue being a housing hypocrite.
The proof is in the pudding – with Starmer likely as England / Great Britain / UK Prime Minister, will Gething stand firm for Wales and INSIST to his Labour colleague that Westminster does right on HS2 payment, a legal jurisdiction, devolution of policing, protection of the Senedd’s rights etc etc etc, or will he simply offer his subjects the line ‘now is not the time’ or some such baloney?
Who are you Mr Gething?
The truth is that Gething does not and will not have the power to demand changes in Westminster (like the HS2 settlement). It’s not a matter of “now is not the time” it is a matter of the rules of devolution.
The UK has the best politicians money can buy.
Ffars llwyr. Prif-weinidog a gafodd i fewn nid dwy gefnogaeth ei gyd-aelodau yn y Senedd na thrwch aelodau cyffredin Cymru, ond oherwydd pleidlais flanced yr undebau, sydd eisio rhyw byped bach i Syr K.S. A fydd hyn yn ddigon i ddadorseddu Llafur o’i hegemoni can mlynedd yng Nghymru? Go brin. Mae Gwalia dlawd mewn parlys fel erioed, yn graddol gerdded i dywyllwch arswydus diddymdra. Af allan i’r coed i wylo. Pa bryd y deffrwch, fy mhobl.
Oh dear. In an administration notable for being second rate, Gething stands out as being third rate. I cannot recall anything he has been involved in that has not resulted in a failure at best. Of course it was buggins turn so he was always going to get “elected”
Brawd mogi yw tagu.
Vaughan Gething is an archetypal British Labour politician. We’ve lived under British Labour control in Wales for too long. It saddens me to think that we’ve got another British Labour politician who’ll keep the status quo, nothing radical just keeping us under control for his Westminster masters. Can someone please tell me why Labour politicians in Cymru love Britain so much?
Why would it “sadden” you. Why would you not expect it. Wales has always been run by the British Labour Party – mainly the worst part of it.
Failed in every job he’s had.
Well that was shock! Fryingpan & fire, what now who to vote for next can’t vote for the big party’s, done with Labour, can’t bring myself to vote TTTTTory the other party’s are just as bad, what next for wales.
In pursuit of his hollow victory, Gething has been shown to be tainted by his lobbying on behalf of donors with criminal convictions and shady shenanigans in the unions. He has no credibility as a leader. Moreover his vision for Wales is wholly lacking. He’s no interest in furthering our democratic cause. His interest is being King of Labour’s Welsh fiefdom. Commentators mention here about the cohort of Labour supporters who are in favour of independence – there is a reckoning now. Do you stick by this tainted Unionist or do you join Plaid Cymru, a genuine Left Wing party… Read more »
Good call to Labour supporters who support independence to now show their support clearly.
But as usual in your blind spot for Plaid Cymru, why should they bother when all Plaid Cymru has been is Santa’s little helper? And will continue to be so.
Furthermore, do you really think that at the next election Plaid Cymru will unequivocally and publicly commit itself to to statehood and end up spoiling their cosy little sinecure in the bay?
Your blind spot is Plaid Cymru John. What’s it like being a lone voice, sniping from the sidlenes? You could be using your otherwise fine mind and substantial talents to improve the party but you choose to whinge from outside. A great shame. I choose to knock doors and try and get the vote up for us.
Do you honestly think that you can change Plaid for the better i.e less wedded to the Labour regime ? You are now party to those closed lists which are tailor made ammo for those who wish to sling mud ( or worse) at Y Senedd. Attempts to distance Plaid from the blunt force of the proposed new Agri/Rural policies are a bit late in the day when people less interested in posturing have been calling them out for ages. You can knock as many doors as you like but get your offering into shape before you start outside the… Read more »
Wylit wylit Lywelyn.
We are even more of a joke now a corrupt politician who takes money from a convicted felon from a dictator to a man who is open to taking money
Great play made of his colour. He is not black; he is half black, half white. Please let’s have some accuracy here at least
As I wrote above. And he’s not the first either. Leo Varadkar led an independent European country – making him the first mixed race leader.
“He will become the first black leader of any European country.”
That is a complete falsehood.
Wales (although aspiring to be one) is not a country; the country is the United Kingdom and Wales is a devolved nation within it.
Ireland, actually a country, has already had a mixed race leader.
Gething is just another mixed race leader. Yes, he is dark skinned, yes he was born overseas, but his father is white Welsh, and Gething has lived in the UK since he was 2 years old. Gething is British, by right of birth and mixed race.
It is now even more important that the next Welsh government should be a Plaid Cymru government. This current labour government have screwed up. The so called Welsh labour party has consistently made excuses but will never call out the real problem: The UK government and its hold on Wales. Welsh labour has just voted for NO change; A situation that will leave us open to the whims of the UK state – that means the stagnation and poverty delivered on Wales from the UK state. Even if labour is elected to government at Westminster there is no guarantee for… Read more »
And the band started playing Rule Britania and we all lived happily ever after.