At midday today, Eluned Morgan became the first woman to lead the Welsh Labour Party. This is a ground-breaking step — she smashes another Welsh glass ceiling, becoming the first female First Minister of Wales. However, she is no winner. After Vaughan Gething stepped down last week, Labour has chosen a coronation not a contest. She is the “unity candidate” around which the party has gathered. While this may seem appealingly convenient, as someone who knows a little bit about replacing a woeful leader, I would be a little worried if I were Welsh Labour right now.
To say there has been something of a crisis in Welsh Labour is an understatement. Vaughan Gething finally realised the game was up when four senior ministers walked out of his government. Defiant to the end, he wailed that his victory in the Labour leadership contest earlier this year was “never accepted.” His implication is that this is because of his race, but really, it was his refusal to see his howling errors of judgement, most obvious of which was taking a £200,000 donation from a company run by a convicted environmental criminal.
