A WELSH Government minister and leading Senedd candidate says it is too soon to worry its “partnership in power” with Labour in Westminster could end.
Though Welsh Labour is facing the possibility of its losing power in Wales for the first time at May’s Senedd elections it sought to play on the strength of it being in power at both ends of the M4 when launching its Senedd campaign in Newport.
First minister Eluned Morgan said Wales and Welsh Labour were “ready to move on” from the austerity of the previous UK Conservative government with the party in power in London having changed.
Ms Morgan’s education minister, Lynne Neagle, said the “fantastic” speech from the first minister, at Newport Market, had “set out very clearly our plans to make Wales fairer.”
Asked why Labour, the only party to have constantly been in power in Cardiff Bay since devolution in 1999 and which has led every Welsh Government, hadn’t yet been able to “make Wales fair” Ms Neagle blamed “14 years of austerity” from the Conservatives holding power at Westminster in 2010 to the 2024 general election.
“We’ve now got a Labour government in Westminster and we’re starting to see investment and that gives us the opportunity to make Wales fairer and deliver the plans we’ve set out today,” said Ms Neagle.
Despite the party’s landslide general election victory less than two years ago its standing in the polls has tumbled nationally and in Wales, leading to what appears the very real prospect of it losing power in Cardiff with either Plaid Cymru or Reform likely to be the biggest party following the May 7 ballot.
At the launch Ms Morgan told reporters Mr Starmer is welcome to hit the campaign trail in Wales if he promises further investment following his February announcement of proposed rail investment. She said: “If he brings me another £14 billion, he is very welcome on the campaign trail.
“That was significant, it was important, and I was pleased to welcome him, because I have been asking for that money for a long time.
“If he brings me another £14 billion, he’s very welcome to come back.”
Even should Labour defy the odds to lead the next Welsh Government the party may not be able to point to partner in power in London beyond 2029, but Ms Neagle sought to play down the prospect of returning to a situation where Labour in Cardiff has to work with a UK government of a different political colour.
“There’s a few years to go before the general election it’s still very early on and we’ve already seen record investment coming into Wales and the two parties working together can provide a much better platform.”
Ms Neagle has been the only person elected to Cardiff Bay from the Torfaen constituency, having won the seat to what was then the National Assembly in 1999.
The new expanded Senedd will see six Members of Senedd elected in each constituency as the parliament increases from 60 to 96 members.
Constituencies are being paired for the election with Torfaen and Monmouthshire, that has only ever been held by the Conservatives in Cardiff, combined.
The greater percentage of the vote a party receives in the combined constituencies the more members of its list, that can have up to eight candidates, will be elected under the new fully proportional system.
Under Labour rules Ms Neagle was guaranteed first place on the party’s list, giving her the best chance of being re-elected, while party members voted for Torfaen council leader Anthony Hunt to take second place on the list. The squeeze on Labour’s vote however means the party faces a tough challenge to return more than one member from the Sir Fynwy Torfaen constituency.
Ms Neagle said “people need to think very carefully before taking a risk on Reform” which has won several community council by-elections in Torfaen, and one in Monmouthshire, in the past year.
Monmouthshire councillor Su McConell, who is seventh placed on Labour’s list, said when she has been campaigning “people have been genuinely interested in having a conversation and not interested in soundbites.”