Vaughan Gething, First Minister of Wales, has managed to achieve the remarkable feat of losing a no confidence vote – just 77 days into his leadership. Defeat was inevitable after two of his Labour colleagues in the Welsh Senedd called in sick. During an often heated debate, Gething at one point appeared visibly emotional and had to be comforted by a colleague. The vote was called by the opposition Conservatives after a series of controversies that have dogged the first minister since he came into the top job. With Labour holding 30 out of the 60 seats in the Senedd, and with every other party set to vote against him, Gething needed the vote of every Labour member if he was to have any hope of winning. It simply proved too big a hurdle. In the end, he lost by two: 29 voted in favour of the no confidence resolution, while 27 voted against.
Damage limitation was underway even before the numbers were counted. Vicki Howells, chair of the Labour group of Members of the Senedd (MSs) said that Gething would not stand down if he lost the ‘gimmick’ vote. It is certainly the case that it is not legally binding and does not automatically trigger a process to remove him. But the reality is that losing is a significant blow to his authority and has seriously undermined his position as first minister. His defeat also poses a significant problem for the UK Labour leader, Keir Starmer, who so far has repeatedly backed the Welsh first minister.
How did it come to this for Gething? It is a situation that he has largely brought upon himself, through a mixture of political ineptitude and arrogance. The donations controversy has been needlessly allowed to overshadow his first weeks in office. The first minister has always maintained that the donations were declared and registered in accordance with the rules. A more nimble and experienced political operator would have recognised the need to deal with the issue decisively and sooner.
Gething has also become embroiled in controversy over whether as health minister during the pandemic he deleted text messages of relevance to the Covid Inquiry. The First Minister disputes this version of events but this hasn’t stopped suspicions in some quarters of decisions being covered up. He also attracted criticism for sacking Hannah Blythyn, his minister for social partnerships, suggesting she had leaked information to the media. She has denied this. Gething already has plenty of enemies on the opposition benches so it is quite a political own goal to have created enemies on his own side, at a time when he needs all the support he can muster. Such basic political miscalculations do not bode well for a newish leader who has no wider electoral mandate from Welsh voters. Nor is it good news that, in a relatively short period, he has managed to give his political opponents plenty of ammunition to back their charge that he simply isn’t up to the job. Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, has questioned his judgment, transparency and truthfulness. The Plaid leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth, has accused him of undermining his office. The Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds said the no confidence vote was about ‘cleaning up politics’ in Wales. It is a damning charge sheet, more so for someone who has only been in post for such a short time. What his Labour colleagues in the Senedd make of his performance so far in the top job has not been made public.
Gething manages to give off the unenviable whiff of a political leader perpetually in the last-chance saloon. He was elected Welsh Labour leader on 16 March, and took office as first minister after a vote the following week. At the time he was hailed as the first black leader of a European country but his honeymoon period has been short-lived.
The newish First Minister’s political troubles highlight a deeper truth about Welsh politics: Wales has few experienced and capable politicians, and the talent pool is becoming shallower over time. Vaughan Gething, floundering from crisis to crisis in the top job, offers ample proof of this problem. He makes his predecessor as first minister, Mark Drakeford, seem like a political giant. And that’s really saying something.
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