Vaughan Gething quits as Wales First Minister

Vaughan Gething has announced he will resign as the First Minister of Wales.

The Welsh Labour leader announced that he would quit following a mass exodus of ministers who urged him to resign following a series of scandals.

In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Gething said: “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.”

Mr Gething lost a no confidence vote in June, which was tabled following the collapse of the co-operation deal between Labour and Plaid Cymru and a series of rows after he accepted a donation from a man convicted of environmental offences.

But he had vowed to continue and called the no-confidence motion a “transparent gimmick” the result of which was affected by two members of his party being unwell.

The First Minister had also come under fire for sacking a minister over leaked messages to the media without a formal inquiry having taken place.

Mr Gething said in his resignation statement: “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.”

He added: “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.”

Mr Gething has maintained that he was telling the truth over the alleged leak of messages and said he was “trying to protect other people”.

Referring to his written statement which related to the sacking of former social partnership minister Hannah Blythyn, Mr Gething said: “It sets out what did happen, it sets out why the evidence is so clear, as I said that I can be pretty clear that there was a photograph of that member’s phone.

“Now everything I’d said before then was about trying to avoid all the events of last week that have rolled on and on and on, I’ve done that in trying to protect other people.

“And I’ve been prepared to take flak and criticism for doing that, and that is exactly what has happened, but I expected at some point there’d be a pause to recognise that what I’d said was actually the truth, and that didn’t happen.”

Mr Gething continued: “Other people need to reflect on what they wish to do in the future and how they exercise their own judgments and I hope all members take that seriously.”

Ministers resign in quick succession

On Tuesday morning, Mick Antoniw, Julie James, Lesley Griffiths and Jeremy Miles all published their letters of resignation on social media in quick succession.

Mr Miles, the Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Energy and Welsh Language, said: “The events of the last few months, including your loss of the confidence vote in the Senedd, have been incredibly painful.

“This has become a distraction from the important work of the Welsh Government and is damaging our party”.

Mr Antoniw, the Counsel General, said: “I must advise you that I do not believe you can continue as First Minister. Wales needs confident and stable government. I do not believe you are capable of delivering that.”

Andrew RT Davies, the leader of the Welsh Conservatives, claimed that Sir Keir Starmer was “culpable for the breakdown in governance in Wales” for having backed Mr Gething.

Mr Davies said: “Vaughan Gething’s resignation is long overdue. But there can be no doubt that his Labour colleagues, from those who resigned today all the way up to Keir Starmer, have stood by his side, and are culpable for the breakdown in governance in Wales.”

Sir Keir had previously defended Mr Gething over the donations scandal, and said in May that he was “really looking forward to a new partnership where we can both deliver for Wales”.

Mr Gething said that he would discuss a timetable for the election of the next first minister.

He added that he remained confident in the Labour Party and was looking forward to seeing who was chosen to replace him.

Sir Keir thanked Mr Gething and said that he should “take enormous pride in being the first black leader of any country in Europe”.

The Prime Minister added: “I know what a difficult decision this has been for him – but I also know that he has made it because he feels it is the best decision now for Wales.”

Plaid Cymru called for a snap Senedd election in the wake of Mr Gething’s resignation.

Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, seized on the resignation to point out that Sir Keir had described Wales as a “blueprint” and “living proof of what Labour looks like in power”.

“If 20mph speed limits, a failing NHS and falling education standards weren’t bad enough, we can now add political chaos and habitual mismanagement to that list,” he said.

“Reform UK stands ready to give the people of Wales a new voice.”

Amid the chaos of Mr Gething’s resignation, the Welsh Government announced that blanket 20mph speed limits would remain in force within built-up areas.

Ken Skates, the devolved nation’s transport minister, told the Senedd that limits would remain at the lower level despite previously conceding that 20mph across the board “hasn’t been appropriate”.

Economic harm of £4.5 billion was estimated by the Welsh Government itself in 2023 as a consequence of the lower speed limit, but the ruling Labour Party pressed on with the blanket policy regardless.

Stay for 20mph limits

Amid the chaos of Mr Gething’s resignation, the Welsh Government announced that blanket 20mph speed limits will remain in force within built-up areas.

The devolved nation’s transport minister, Ken Skates, told the Senedd that limits would remain at the lower level despite previously conceding that 20mph across the board “hasn’t been appropriate”.

Economic harm of £4.5 billion was estimated by the Welsh Government itself in 2023 as a consequence of the lower speed limit, but the ruling Labour Party pressed on with the blanket policy regardless.

A public petition to scrap the hated law became the most popular in the Senedd’s history earlier this year, garnering around half a million signatures.

Mr Skates said on Tuesday that new rules published by the Welsh Government will let local councils decide from September which roads can have their speed limits raised back to 30mph.

“To clarify,” said the transport minister, “it sets out that 30mph limits could be considered on strategic roads outside urban centres and rural residential roads with no nearby facilities.

“It prioritises 20 miles an hour speed limits where pedestrians and cyclists frequently mix with vehicles unless strong evidence supports that higher speeds are safe.

“It also sets out the speed limit changes to 30 miles an hour are mainly expected on A and B roads, which are generally strategic routes through urban areas.”

The Welsh Tories’ shadow transport spokeswoman Natasha Asghar said her party would scrap the blanket limit: “Councils who are already stretched due to Labour’s budget cuts, will be left to sort out the mess the Labour Government has made of their 20mph policy and I cannot see there being many significant changes as a result.”