Abigail Mainon is Deputy Chairman Membership of the Welsh Conservative Party and is standing as the Conservative Candidate for the seat of Aberafan Maesteg.
It seems there are no quiet weeks in Welsh politics at the moment. Even now during this general election campaign, on manifesto launch week, focus of conversation on the doorsteps falls to the Senedd.
This week I’ve been primarily out supporting David TC Davies in Monmouth and Alun Cairns in the Vale of Glamorgan, as well as working on my own campaign in Aberafan Maesteg.
During this time Vaughan Gething, First Minister of Wales, has lost a vote of no confidence in his leadership within the Welsh Parliament – but has said he is going nowhere.
Sir Kier Starmer has said to journalists that the motion was “game playing by the Conservatives”, and “I think the people in Wales want him [Gething] to deliver for them”
The First Minister has faced a rocky start after accepting a £200,000 campaign donation from a controversial waste company, who’s owner has been convicted of environmental offences, this no confidence vote fell on Vaughan’s just 78th day in post.
Labour hold 30 of the 60 Senedd seats, so even with all opposition parties voting against him they still didn’t have the numbers to pass the no confidence motion… without some disgruntled Labour backbencher support. Two former Welsh ministers who have been publicly critical of his leadership did not turn up to vote due to alleged ‘illness’, despite the ability to vote remotely from home in the hybrid parliament or being able to appoint a proxy to vote in person in their place.
Darren Millar MS, also the parliamentary candidate for Clwyd North, opened Question 1 of this week’s FMQs with: “First Minister, why are you still here? You don’t have the confidence of this Senedd…”; it seems he doesn’t have the confidence of the Welsh public either.
The latest Redfield and Wilton data shows a majority (53 per cent) of Welsh voters believe that Gething should now resign. Even amongst labour voters at the last Senedd election 48 per cent now think Gething should resign. It also shows the Welsh public now even think Andrew RT Davies, the Conservative Senedd leader, would be a better First Minister than Gething.
Despite this, however, the election polls have not yet shifted in our favour, with Reform cutting through to scoop up disgruntled voters from both sides.
Even Labour MSs are questioning Gething’s time left in post. Jenny Rathbone, speaking on BBC Radio Wales, said she didn’t know if the First Minister could carry on; a Labour candidate has also told the BBC they wanted to distance themselves from him, and that they don’t want him out on the doorsteps campaigning with them.
Along with their flawed 20mph speed limit policy, this no confidence vote has been a hot topic on the doors this week, even Labour sources have said it’s been an issue for them.
Labour seems to be at present distancing themselves from the Welsh Labour brand that has previously been so successful in creating their monopoly here in Wales, going so far as to use an alias Facebook account ‘Wales’ Future’ seemingly set up to run all of their social media advertisements. The page has only 29 likes but has run over 370 ads since late May.
Starmer has said his is the party of change, yet given Labour’s record here in Wales, I can only assume this is a change for the worse.
