No sooner had new Labour PM Keir Starmer promised a fresh start for a Britain “broken” by 14 years of Tory government than his party was embarrassed by the forced resignation, after just four months in office, of its scandal-wracked First Minister in Wales, where Labour has governed for 25 years.
The First Minister of Wales, Vaughan Gething, has resigned following alleged conflicts of interest. Gething, who became the first black man to lead one of the UK home nations when he was elected in March, announced on Tuesday that he would stand down after four ministers resigned earlier in the day while calling for him to go.
Mick Antoniw, the Welsh Counsel General, told Gething: “It is clear that you no longer command a majority, that you will be unable to enter into the agreements necessary to pass a budget, and for all intents and purposes the Senedd [Welsh legislature] is rudderless.”
Meanwhile, Jeremy Miles, who was Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, said: “We cannot continue like this. It’s essential that we begin to repair the damage immediately, and I have reached the conclusion very regrettably that this cannot happen under your leadership.”
Gething’s proximity to multiple scandals since becoming First Minister led to scrutiny of donations to his leadership campaign and his sacking a minister whom he accused of leaking private messages to the media.
Last month, Gething lost a non-binding motion of no confidence in his leadership. However, he vowed to stay on, calling the motion a “gimmick.” In a statement announcing his resignation on Tuesday, he called allegations against him “pernicious, politically motivated and patently untrue.”
In 11 years as a minister, I have never ever made a decision for personal gain. I have never ever misused or abused my ministerial responsibilities.
My integrity matters. I have not compromised it. I regret that the burden of proof is no longer an important commodity in the language of our politics. I do hope that can change.
Wales has been ruled by the Labour party since the introduction of devolution in 1999, but its increasingly fractious administration has been accused of misrule and of running the health service “into the ground.”
