{"id":652573,"date":"2025-12-24T14:47:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T14:47:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/652573\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T14:47:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T14:47:17","slug":"welsh-first-minister-vows-to-keep-labour-most-successful-democratic-party-on-the-planet-welsh-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/652573\/","title":{"rendered":"Welsh first minister vows to keep Labour \u2018most successful democratic party on the planet\u2019 | Welsh politics"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first minister of Wales has said she is determined for Welsh Labour not to lose its crown as the world\u2019s most successful democratic party<\/a>, despite warnings it could be relegated to third place in May\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n

Polls suggest Reform UK and Plaid Cymru could win more seats than Eluned Morgan\u2019s party <\/a>in the Seneddelections next year, ending 100 years of dominance for Labour in Wales.<\/p>\n

Morgan said: \u201cOf course I feel the pressure but I\u2019m also determined to turn this round. We\u2019re the most successful democratic political party on the planet. It\u2019s a long winning streak. We\u2019re up for the fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morgan became Labour\u2019s first female head of government<\/a> in the UK in the summer of 2024 following the resignation of Vaughan Gething over a donations scandal.<\/p>\n

She is seen as charismatic and energetic, but the polls suggest the people of Wales may be ready for change, with her party being defeated at the high-profile Caerphilly byelection<\/a> in the autumn.<\/p>\n

Morgan said: \u201cCaerphilly was difficult but I\u2019m keen to make sure people recognise that what you have in me is a leader who is determined to turn a page.\u201d<\/p>\n

She pointed out that Labour Senedd grandees such as the former first minister Mark Drakeford <\/a>and the social justice secretary, Jane Hutt<\/a>, who have been at the centre of Welsh politics since devolution in 1999, were leaving the parliament.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have been here right from the beginning. They helped to establish devolution. They helped to protect devolution from the years of austerity. But what we have now is the end of austerity and what I\u2019m setting out is a vision, where Wales<\/a> will move from post-industrial society to one embracing a digital future, a technology-driven future that will be powered by clean energy made here in Wales.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morgan highlighted a scheme to build a first-of-its kind nuclear power station on Anglesey <\/a>(Ynys M\u00f4n) in north Wales, announced in November, and the creation of two AI growth zones in south Wales<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The first minister said if Plaid led the next Welsh government<\/a>, its desire for an independent Wales would be a distraction. \u201cWhat we\u2019ll get is constant talk about the constitution and a constant battle with the UK government.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morgan said Reform \u201cthrew the kitchen sink\u201d at the Caerphilly byelection and came up short.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a percentage of people who will buy into their negativity, their division-making, their hatred. What I\u2019m interested in doing is competing on a positive pitch. I want to look to the future and I\u2019m not interested in chasing them down an immigration agenda.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a situation in Wales, particularly in the area I represent [mid and west Wales], where 48% of doctors and dentists have been trained overseas. We are dependent on these people.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said companies would be less keen to invest in Wales and public services would be at risk under Reform. \u201cReform have no experience of running anything. That is one hell of a risk for the people of Wales to take.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the summer, Morgan expressed impatience with UK Labour,<\/a> calling on Keir Starmer to rethink policies on welfare and said she was \u201ctacking to the left\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said she was pleased changes had been made to the winter fuel allowance <\/a>and the two-child benefit cap<\/a> had been abolished.<\/a><\/p>\n

Morgan also said UK Labour was following the Welsh party\u2019s lead on schemes such as free school breakfasts<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019ve been doing that for 21 years. And they want to introduce a youth guarantee. Again, 60,000 young people in Wales have already benefited from our youth guarantee. What\u2019s great is, they\u2019re following us. We\u2019ve set the pace, I think, for the UK government. It\u2019s a shame they don\u2019t give us as much credit for the creativity we\u2019ve shown in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some Labour<\/a> party members have privately suggested it may be time for a spell in opposition, giving time and space for reinvention but Morgan said it would be an \u201cawful thing\u201d for Wales if her party lost power.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that the things people rely on every day may not be there. Think about free prescriptions \u2013 something they\u2019re not offering in England. That may go. It won\u2019t go if Welsh Labour is in power.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than anything, she said Labour provided stability.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstability is very, very dangerous for the country at a time when the world is facing instability. You see the challenges people have with the cost of living crisis, climate change and flooding, Russia and the aggression happening there. All of those things create an environment of instability. I think that what we can offer is stability in an age of instability.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first minister of Wales has said she is determined for Welsh Labour not to lose its crown…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":652574,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5010],"tags":[748,4884,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-652573","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wales","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-great-britain","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115775094356198983","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=652573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/652574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=652573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=652573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}