Eluned Morgan was today elected by the Senedd Cymru, the local parliament in Cardiff, as the new First Minister of Wales, becoming the first woman to lead the government of the constituent nation of the United Kingdom.
Baroness Morgan of Ely, nominated by the Welsh Labour Party, won 28 votes against 15 for Conservative Andrew RT Davies and 12 for Rhun ap Iorwerth, supported by the independentists of Plaid Cymru. “It is the greatest pleasure and privilege of my life to stand before you as the first woman to become First Minister of Wales,” she said. said the 57-year-old addressed members of the Senedd after the vote, first and foremost thanking her predecessor Vaughan Getting, who resigned on 16 July after a series of scandals but who was today described by Morgan as a “true pioneer” in Wales’ “devolution journey”.
“When I take up the role of leader, I promise to honour (my predecessor’s) achievements and add to that legacy. Perhaps with a splash of bright colour – grey suits are out of style,” she quipped, turning to women. “Women watching us today need to know that their potential is limitless. The path to leadership is no longer just a possibility but a reality,” she added. “I look forward to the day when a woman becoming first minister is no longer an extraordinary thing, but a normal part of our Welsh political life. “In a world where the things that divide us are being amplified, sometimes for profit, I want to make it clear that I will be a first minister who listens. I want to listen to everyone, not just those who shout the loudest or have the most power.”
Leader of the Welsh Labour Party since 24 July, Eluned Morgan was elected to the local parliament for the first time in 2016, after having been an MEP from 1994 to 2009, while since 2011 she has also sat in the House of Lords in Westminster, the highest branch of the British Parliament, where she is currently on “authorised leave”.
The first to congratulate the new First Minister of Wales was British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who expressed his “heartfelt congratulations and support” to Morgan. “Eluned has made history today, becoming the first ever woman to become First Minister of Wales,” the occupant of No. 10 Downing Street said. Morgan, he added, has a long history of public service and her “commitment to serving the people of Wales is unwavering.” The British government, Starmer concluded, will work “side by side” with the Labour executive in Cardiff to ensure growth and “high-quality public services.”
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