Eluned Morgan set to be first woman leader

Welsh Labour is expected to confirm Eluned Morgan as its new leader – and successor to First Minister Vaughan Gething – later on Wednesday.

Mr Gething was forced to announce his resignation after just four months last week when four senior members of the Welsh government quit at the same time.

The 57-year-old health secretary is unopposed in the contest to be the party’s Welsh leader, and will be both the first female Welsh Labour leader and first female first minister once confirmed.

Mr Gething had planned to stand down as first minister in September but may quit sooner, requiring the Welsh Parliament to return from recess to confirm his replacement.

Eluned Morgan, 57, started her career in politics as the youngest member of the European Parliament in 1994, at the age of 27.

She was made a life peer in the House of Lords in 2011, becoming Baroness Morgan of Ely, and entered the Senedd five years later as a MS for Mid and West Wales.

Since 2021 she has been in charge of health in Wales, overseeing the NHS as it struggled with backlogs from the pandemic.

She last stood for the Welsh Labour leadership in 2018, losing to Mark Drakeford at the time.

Ms Morgan, who supported Mr Gething in the last leadership contest, has promised to unify the split Labour group.

She has said she will make Huw Irranca-Davies, who supported Mr Gething’s rival Jeremy Miles for the job earlier this year, her deputy first minister.

After Mr Gething’s resignation was announced there were calls for the party to have a contest.

Mr Miles was narrowly beaten by Mr Gething for the job in March and was expected to run again, having been one of the ministers who had forced Mr Gething to quit.

But his shock announcement to support Ms Morgan left the field open for her, with other potential candidates also getting behind her.

Candidates in the leadership contest need at least five other supporters to nominate them, or two others and a collection of support from local memberships or affiliated organisations.

Ms Morgan received the support of at least 25 other Senedd members.

Llanelli MS and former transport minister Lee Waters declined to nominate, while the intentions of Mr Gething and Ms Blythyn are unknown.

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth called for a Senedd election.

He said: “Eluned Morgan will today become the third Labour leader in Wales in three months.

“She knows that for Welsh government to have legitimacy in such circumstances, a fresh election is needed, as Labour themselves called for when both UK and Scottish governments went through successive leadership changes.”

A formal roll call vote is required of all 60 MSs before the new first minister is confirmed.

With only one candidate in the race it became apparent that Mr Gething may quit earlier than planned – requiring the Senedd to be recalled.

BBC Wales was told earlier in the week that discussions have happened between the first minister’s office, Welsh Labour and the Senedd.

The Senedd would require a request from the Welsh government to bring the parliament back from recess. While it is expected such a request would be granted, full plans are not being made yet and there is no date for a recall.

The fact that some MSs are abroad on holiday would be an added complication. How a vote would work – a roll call of the 60 MSs – if those circumstances did not change is unclear.

The vote requires every MS to say out loud who they think should be first minister.

In theory the opposition, with exactly half the numbers in the Senedd, could prevent Ms Morgan from being confirmed by getting behind a single candidate.

But that is not going to happen and Labour will have the numbers to get their new first minister confirmed. Welsh Liberal Democrat Jane Dodds plans to abstain, while Conservatives and Plaid Cymru plan to nominate their own leaders.