By Connor Rosoman, Socialist Alternative Political Committee
Eluned Morgan has become the third leader of Welsh Labour in the space of a year. As she takes over the post of Welsh First Minister, at the helm of a party in complete chaos, Labour’s fortunes look unlikely to change.
The Labour Party in Wales has long positioned itself to the left of its counterpart in England, talking about ‘clear red water’ between them. But Labour’s role in the Senedd has been to loyally oversee Tory austerity, leaving Wales as one of the poorest areas in Britain. It is in this context that there has been a massive decline in trust toward politicians – Labour included. In December Labour’s First Minister and party leader Mark Drakeford resigned from his position in the context of crumbling approval ratings of only 31%, opening up a new leadership contest.
His successor, Vaughan Gething, was mired in scandals before even winning the leadership race. It was revealed that his campaign was bankrolled by multimillionaire David Neal, whose company ‘Dauson Environmental Group’ had been prosecuted for illegally dumping waste on conservation sites. Another of Neal’s companies, Atlantic Recycling Limited, was prosecuted in 2019 for breaching health and safety law after a worker was killed on site. Nevertheless, with this out in the open, Gething narrowly won with 51.7% of the vote in March – only to get the boot 78 days in. Gething was embroiled in another scandal after leaked screenshots showed he had deleted messages to cover up for his role in the Welsh Government’s pandemic response, as part of the COVID-19 inquiry. As a result, a no-confidence motion was tabled in the Senedd, which Gething lost.
Can Eluned Morgan turn things around?
So now, Eluned Morgan takes the reins of the Welsh Labour administration. As an MEP, Morgan was an opponent of the ‘clear red water’ slogan – arguing for an approach catered to ‘middle Wales’ to regain votes being lost to the Lib Dems. Her leadership of Welsh Labour will certainly be welcomed by Starmer and the Labour right, but it will provide none of the solutions working people are looking for.
Last year, as Health Minister for Wales, Morgan meekly accepted Tory health spending limits, explaining that “there is only one cake, and my responsibility as the minister is to determine how that is cut up.” It was this approach that saw Welsh Labour vehemently opposed to striking health workers’ demands for a pay rise – eventually settling on a below-inflation 5% pay deal plus a small one-off payment of around £1,000. This was almost identical to the deal put forward by the Tories in Westminster. Of course, workers should not accept the meagre crumbs imposed by restrictive Tory or Labour spending limits, while big business makes record profits and billions are being spent on war.
Despite its apparent landslide in July’s General Election, Labour saw a decline in its share of the vote in Wales. The latest change of personnel is unlikely to signal a reversal of Welsh Labour’s fortunes – and neither should it! Workers need a real political alternative that stands against the corrupt capitalist establishment, not more Red Tories.
