Vaughan Gething becomes Wales’ first black Welsh Labour leader
Vaughan Gething has been named as Wales’ new First Minister, becoming the first black leader of a European country.
He will replace Mark Drakeford, who has been Welsh leader since 2018 and announced his intention to resign late last year.
It means Mr Gething, who beat Welsh education minister Jeremy Miles to secure the Labour leadership, becomes the country’s fifth leader since the Senedd was established in 1999.
Both candidates in the leadership race offered a historic milestone for Wales, with Mr Miles the first to be openly gay and Mr Gething the first black politician to be elected to the role.
Mr Gething won with a slim majority, securing 51.7 per cent of the vote compared to 48.3 per cent for rival Mr Miles, according to Welsh Labour.
Only Labour members or those belonging to 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.
Labour have 30 of the Welsh parliament’s 60 seats and are currently in a co-operation agreement with Plaid Cymru, who lend support on certain Government policies.
Mr Drakeford is not expected to stand down immediately, with his final First Minister’s Questions next Tuesday.
The outgoing leader acknowledged that his successor will inherit a difficult set of circumstances, as Wales grapples with protests by farmers, record NHS waiting lists and an economy still recovering from the pandemic.
“At whatever point anybody takes on this job there will always be an in-tray that is full, and it will always be an in-tray that’s got some challenging issues in it,” said Mr Drakeford.
Mr Gething, who worked as the health and economy minister for Wales, ran his leadership bid on promises to improve the Welsh NHS, prioritise green jobs, build more homes and boost infrastructure. He also pledged to drive up education standards in Wales and promote the country to a more prominent position on the world stage.
Addressing Labour members on Saturday, Mr Gething paid tribute to Mr Drakeford for leading the country during the pandemic and for his “forensic approach to public policy”.
He said his election would “turn a page in the book of our nation’s history”, adding: “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.”
UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer congratulated Mr Gething, writing on X that his election as the first black leader of any of the devolved nations “will be an historic moment that speaks to the progress and values of modern-day Wales”.
Mr Gething’s election campaign has faced hiccups along the way, after it emerged last month that he accepted a £200,000 donation from a company run by a man convicted of environmental offences.
David John Neal was given a three-month suspended prison sentence in 2013 for illegally dumping waste on the environmentally sensitive Gwent Levels in south Wales.
Mr Drakeford cleared him of wrongdoing following an investigation into whether he broke the ministerial code in late February, ruling that it did not govern donations to Senedd members.
He now faces the uphill battle of trying to unite Welsh Labour after a divisive leadership campaign and prepare to lead the party into a general election.
