‘My integrity matters, I have not compromised it’ – what Vaughan Gething said in his resignation statement
Here is Vaughan Gething’s resignation statement in full.
I have this morning taken the difficult decision to begin the process of stepping down as leader of the Welsh Labour party and, as a result, first minister.
Having been elected as leader of my party in March, I had hoped that over the summer a period of reflection, rebuilding and renewal could take place under my leadership.
I recognise now that this is not possible.
It has been the honour of my life to do this job even for a few short months.
To see the dedication to public service from our civil service, and the dedication to civility from the Welsh public.
To see the election of a new government in Westminster, and the fresh hope that brings to Wales.
I have always pursued my political career to serve Wales.
And being able to show under-represented communities that there is a place for them, for us, is an honour and privilege that will never diminish.
It’s what drew me into public service. Before becoming an MS [member of the Senedd] I fought employment cases for people who’d been mistreated at work.
I wanted to give power to those without a voice.
That has always been my motivation.
I also campaigned to help create the Senedd, clocking up 30 years of work to support Wales’ devolution journey.
This has been the most difficult time, for me, and my family.
A growing assertion that some kind of wrongdoing has taken place has been 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.
I will now discuss a timetable for the election of a new leader of my party.
Finally, I want to say thank you to those who have reached out to support me, my team and my family in recent weeks.
It has meant the world to all of us.
To those in Wales who look like me – many of whom I know feel personally bruised and worried by this moment – I know that our country can be better. I know that cannot happen without us.
There will – and there must be – a government that looks like the country it serves.
Thank you.
Key events
As Pippa Crerar reports, the government has invited councils in areas where there are no metro mayors to join forces and request extra devolved powers. The press notice from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is here, and here is Pippa’s story.
This afternoon the Conservative party released a response, in effect accusing Angela Rayner, the housing secretary, of hypocrisy. A Tory spokesperson said:
Labour is giving with one hand and taking with the other – just last week Angela Rayner removed the power of local communities to stop Labour concreting over the green belt.
The Conservatives will hold Labour to account to ensure local residents have accountable and responsive local services.
Helen Grant, who served as a junior minister under David Cameron, is thinking of standing for the Conservative leadership, Aubrey Allegretti from the Times reports.
Another Tory MP has thrown their hat in the ring for deputy speaker.
Helen Grant, a former minister and vice-chair of the Conservative party, has today been courting support from colleagues.
— Aubrey Allegretti (@breeallegretti) July 16, 2024
Another Tory MP has thrown their hat in the ring for deputy speaker.
Helen Grant, a former minister and vice-chair of the Conservative party, has today been courting support from colleagues.
Public confidence in Scottish government at lowest level since devolution began, report says
Severin Carrell
Public confidence in the Scottish government has plummeted to its lowest level since the advent of devolution, with support for higher taxes also falling, a major annual survey has found.
The Scottish social attitudes survey found that only 47% of respondents believed the devolved government worked in Scotland’s best interests “most of the time” or “just about always”, down from 61% in 2019 and a high of 72% in 2015.
It found that 62% did not believe the Scottish government was good at listening to people, with only 35% thinking it was good at doing so. That was the worst rating since 1999.
These findings, based on face to face polling of 1,574 people carried out in September and October last year, will make further painful reading for the Scottish National party government. It haemorrhaged support at the general election, losing 39 of its 48 Westminster seats after nearly 518,000 SNP voters swung behind Labour, the Greens or other parties, or stayed at home.
The survey found supporters of independence were more likely to be positive than those who did not but that was not uniform; roughly 30% of yes voters did not trust it.
The study found a plurality supported the Scottish government’s long-running policy of slowly increasing taxes on the better paid to support higher public spending, but that support has also decreased, from 55% in 2019 down to 47%.
The survey’s foreword pointed out the survey took place during the cost of living crisis, a slump in Scotland’s economic growth, and the “extreme pressures” facing the NHS.
Even so, it noted that positive attitudes towards the UK government, which have been consistently lower, crept up, from 15% in 2019 to 21% last year. (The UK government’s highest positive rating, of 37%, occurred in 2007.)
Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour’s deputy leader, said the survey’s findings were “an utterly damning indictment of the Tories and the SNP’s records in government – a Tory government that caused economic turmoil and an SNP government that has led our NHS to breaking point.”
Jamie Hepburn, the government’s business manager at Holyrood, said the survey showed support for its main policy goals – a desire to see the economy grow and for wealth redistribution. “This aligns with the Scottish government’s commitments and how we are working hard to provide support to those who need it most was positive about,” he said.
The Welsh Conservatives have said they do not back Plaid Cymru’s call for an early election in Wales. (See 12.24pm.) Andrew RT Davies, the party’s Welsh leader, told PA Media:
I think that’s being very hot-headed in the current climate.
Because actually, what would happen would be that we could have an election now and then we’d still have to have a full Senedd election in 2026.
I don’t think people want a full-blown general election here in Wales. What people want is clear leadership, direction of travel, and improvements in their everyday lives.
The Tories might have other reasons for not wanting an early Senedd election. At the general election they did not win a single seat in Wales, and their vote share was down by 18 percentage points.
Pippa Crerar has filed an analysis of the significance of Vaughan Gething’s resignation. Here is an excerpt.
Gething’s departure provides Welsh Labour with an opportunity for a reset. But some in the party fear their woes in Cardiff may go wider than one man, and that after almost 23 years in power there the public is restless.
That is despite a strong showing for the party at the general election when Labour won back a string of Welsh seats from the Tories – wiping them out in Wales – ending up on 27 seats, nine more than the 2019 tally.
In recent years, the party has faced pressure over issues including the state of the NHS and 20mph speed limits in Wales. But more broadly, some voters feel that Labour in Cardiff has failed to significantly improve their lives.
The perils of long-term incumbency that did for the SNP in Scotland and, in part, the Conservatives right across the country, also exist in Wales. But despite Labour’s support in Wales looking more resilient, it must show in the months ahead that it is not taking voters for granted.
And here is the article in full.
Huw Irranca-Davies, tipped as potential candidate to replace Gething, rules out early election
ITV’s Paul Brand says two of the leading candidates to replace Vaughan Gething are Jeremy Miles, who lost to Gething by 51.7% to 48.3% and who resigned as economy secretary this morning (see 10.17am) and Huw Irranca-Davies, a former UK government minister who resigned as an MP in 2016 so he could pursue a career in the Senedd and who is now climate change secretary.
Possible names to replace him already circulating…
Huw Irranca-Davies – former MP
Jeremy Miles – who came v close to beating GethingAlso a lot of desire for a woman candidate, given dominance of Welsh politics by men over the course of devolution (never been a female FM).
— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) July 16, 2024
Possible names to replace him already circulating…
Huw Irranca-Davies – former MP
Jeremy Miles – who came v close to beating GethingAlso a lot of desire for a woman candidate, given dominance of Welsh politics by men over the course of devolution (never been a female FM).
Irranca-Davies was on Radio 4’s the World at One. Describing Gething as a friend, he said this was a sad day. Gething had spent 30 years in public service, he said. And what happened to him showed “if we want people to stand for top office, or for any part of public service, we need to think about the way that we conduct debates”.
Irranca-Davies said “a wide range of things” had led up to this. Asked if Gething was to blame for the mistakes he made, Irranca-Davies said no. He said Gething was going because he realised he no longer had enough support in the party.
Sarah Montague, the presenter, put it to him that it was unreasonable for Gething to complain in his resignation statement (see 11.36am) about “the burden of proof” no longer being important when he sacked a minister for a leak which the website that published it said she was not responsible for. Irranca-Davies said he did not want to discuss this, because both people involved were friends of his, and both were under intense pressure.
Asked if the Senedd elections should be brought forward, as Plaid Cymru is demanding, Irranca-Davies said he did not agree. He went on:
This is not the time for election. What the people of Wales want is focusing on the business of government and delivering for them, not playing political guessing games.
Adam Price, the former Plaid Cymru leader, said the Labour government at Westminister is going to appoint an ethics commissioner able to investigate complaints at their own initiative. He put it to Gething that, if the Senedd had a similar system, these problems could have been avoided.
Gething said he did not accept that.
And, referring to the controversy about his decision to sack Hannah Blythyn over allegedly leaking text messages, he said today he published the evidence to justify this.
The leak was about a message from Gething during Covid saying he was deleting messages because they could be subject to a Freedom of Information request. (Gething was health minister for the first year of the pandemic, and then economy minister.)
Last week Nation.Cymru, the website that published a story based on its leak, took the highly unusual step for a news organisation of saying that Blythyn was not its source.
Rhun ap Iorwerth, the Plaid Cymru leader, said that by his actions, and particularly by ignoring the no confidence vote in him, Vaughan Gething had brought his office into disrepute. He called for an early election.
Referring to ap Iorwerth’s references to the donor who contributed to his campaign (see 1.45pm), Gething said the solar farm application would not have been a matter for him. And he would not have been involved in applications to the Bank of Wales either.
Ap Iorwerth says what happened in Cardiff was “a classic case of party before country”. The Welsh Labour party did not want to do anything about Gething because they did not want to rock the boat during the general election campaign. He again called for a general election.
Gething said there has just been an election. And he said ap Iorwerth was not entitled to question the loyalty of Welsh Labour politicians to their country.
Gething says he expects new Welsh Labour leader to be elected by ‘early in autumn’
Back in the Senedd Andrew RT Davies, the Welsh Conservative leader, told members that Vaughan Gething had refused to shake his hands in a lift in the building this morning. He said he wished Gething the best. He asked what it was that forced Gething out.
In repsonse, Gething said he was confident about his integrity.
Davies asked if the Labour group was capable of uniting behind another leader. Could it last until 2026?
“Of course we can,” said Gething. He said it would be for the people of Wales to decide who should form the next government, in an expanded Senedd, at the next election. He said he was sad to be standing down as first minister but was still “full of optimism” for what the Senedd could achieve.
Davies asked what the timetable would be for a Labour leadership election.
Gething said he would remain first minister until a new leader was elected. The executive of the Welsh Labour party would decide the timetable for that contest, he said. He said a new Labour leader would be in place “early in the autumn”.
Boris Johnson has “flown to the US to speak to an almost empty room at the Republican National Convention”, Sophie Huskisson reports in a story for the Mirror.
Gething rejects claim ‘chaos’ in Labour party has stopped Welsh government functioning properly
In the Senedd Plaid Cymru’s Siân Gwenllian said the chaos in the Labour party in Wales was “unforgiveable”. Speaking in Welsh, she said that it had led to government business being delayed, and as an example she cited a white paper on housing which she said had been delayed.
Gething replied: “Well, obviously I don’t share the member’s view.”
He said that, despite all the “noise”, the government had been getting on with its job.
Gething delivers resignation statement to members of Senedd
Vaughan Gething has been making a personal statement in the Senedd. There is a live feed here.
He started by reading out the text of the resignation statement issued earlier. (See 11.36am.)
In his resignation statement Vaughan Gething hinted there could be an element of racism in the factors that led to him being forced out of office. (See 11.36am.) After saying that he had been unfairly accused of wrongdoing, he said:
To those in Wales who look like me – many of whom I know feel personally bruised and worried by this moment – I know that our country can be better. I know that cannot happen without us.
There will – and there must be – a government that looks like the country it serves.
In an interview on Radio 4’s World at One, Rhun ap Iorwerth, the Plaid Cymru leader, was asked if he thought racism was part of the reason for Gething having to resign. He replied:
Not at all. This is about a first minister that proved himself from the outset determined to put himself before everything else,
Even before he came into the job of first minister, there was the scandal around the £200,000 pound donation from a convicted environmental polluter, who happens to have taken out a £400,000 pound loan from government Bank of Wales, who happens to want government permission to build a solar park.
Now, the first minister has come back to this point that no rule was broken. But we know that in politics, and under the ministerial code even, there’s an importance placed on perception. And he completely failed to accept [the concerns about perception].
The Conservative party are considering holding hustings for the final two leadership candidates at the party conference, with the members’ ballot taking place afterwards, Steven Swinford reports in a story for the Times. He says the party is considering this timetable, instead of holding a series of hustings after conference, with the ballot in November, partly for financial reasons. He says:
The 1922 Committee, which represents backbench MPs, and the board of the Conservative party are this week expected to set out the timetable for the contest.
Under the plans being considered MPs will whittle down the contenders – there are expected to be as many as seven – to two in September. The hustings would be held during the Conservative party conference at the beginning of October before party
There are concerns that if the contest drags on it will lead to significant financial difficulties for the party. Donors are likely to hold off giving money until Rishi Sunak’s successor has been elected.
Former minister Alan Duncan renews his attack on Tory links with Israel after inquiry clears him of antisemitism
In April the Conservative party said that it was launching an investigation into Alan Duncan, the former MP and former Foreign Office minister, after he gave an interview claiming several figures at the top of the party were too pro-Israel. He also alleged that the Conservative Friends of Israel group had too much influence on government, alleging it was “doing the bidding of [Benjamin] Netanyahu”, the Israeli PM.
As Kiran Stacey reports, Duncan is today saying he has been exonerated. But he has renewed his attack on his party’s links with Israel.
NEW: Very odd tale breaking in the Tory party.
Alan Duncan exonerated after a party investigation into whether recent comments about Israel were antisemitic. But oddly, the exoneration includes an admission that there was never any formal complaint to CCHQ.
— Kiran Stacey (@kiranstacey) July 16, 2024
NEW: Very odd tale breaking in the Tory party.
Alan Duncan exonerated after a party investigation into whether recent comments about Israel were antisemitic. But oddly, the exoneration includes an admission that there was never any formal complaint to CCHQ.
Duncan launches a blistering attack on his own party. Says there is a corrupt relationship between the Conservative Friends of Israel and the party itself.
Alan Duncan on his own party: “Money, improper influence, and the promotion of Israeli interests about our own have contributed to the destruction of the UK as independent foreign policy.”
