First Minister pledges to stand up for Wales

Emily Price 

First Minister Eluned Morgan has pledged to call out the UK Labour Government if she thinks Westminster is getting it wrong for Wales.

In a keynote speech delivered at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff Bay on Tuesday (May 6) - which Nation.Cymru was not invited to - Baroness Morgan said: "We will do things our way, shaped by our Welsh values, our people and our priorities."

In a Gavin And Stacey reference, she said: "There will be times when what’s right for Essex is not right for Barry."

The First Minister added: "We know that splits and spats make for easy news, but this isn’t drama. This is honesty, this is responsibility. This is what leadership looks like.

"So when we disagree, we will say it. When we see unfairness, we’ll stand up for it.

"When Westminster makes decisions that we think will harm the Welsh communities, we will not stay silent.

"This is not a split. This is grown up, modern government. This is not disloyalty. This is patriotic responsibility."

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Rethink

The First Minister also called on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to rethink the means-testing of winter fuel payments as ministers acknowledged the cuts contributed to Labour’s hammering at the ballot box during the local elections in England last week.

Setting out a "red Welsh way" she said there were "two Labour Governments working together" in Cardiff Bay and Westminster but insisted she would challenge Starmer where they disagreed.

The FM said Sir Keir was a "serious person" who has "reset the relationship with the Welsh Government".

"This is our chance to rebuild Wales, invest in our public services and secure a fairer economy for working people," she said.

But she added: "To be honest, though, it hasn’t all been popular. The cut in winter fuel allowance is something that comes up time and again, and I hope the UK Government will rethink this policy."

Baroness Morgan also voiced fears that Reform UK could make significant gains in Wales at next year’s Senedd election.

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Reforms

On the UK Government's controversial welfare reforms, Baroness Morgans said the proposals "are causing serious concern here, where we have a higher number of people dependent on disability benefits than elsewhere".

She said: "In some of our former coalfield communities, over 40% of working-age adults are in receipt of disability benefits.

"We know that disability cuts are likely to hit Wales more than six times more, proportionally, in some areas in Wales compared to England."

The FM called on the UK Government to look at the approach being adopted in Wales to get people into work.

She said: "In Wales, we believe in an opportunity welfare state, one that supports people to move forward when they can and stands beside them when they can’t. But partnership in power should work both ways.

"We ask the UK Government, come and take a look at our alternative approach to supporting people into work in Wales, where the system has already proven its worth because our young person’s guarantee scheme ensures that every young person has the offer of education, training or employment."

The leader of the Senedd Conservatives - Darren Millar - described the speech as "a last ditch, desperate attempt to save the Labour Party's bacon in Wales" before the 2026 Senedd election.

He said: "It's too late; she and her colleagues have been rumbled. The people of Wales have been taken for granted by them for far too long and are crying out for change."

'Cruel'

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said the speech was "a desperate attempt by a floundering first  minister to reset her premiership 9 months into the job."

He said: "It won’t wash with the people of Wales.

"From the betrayal of steelworkers and pensioners to the cruel welfare reforms, Eluned Morgan has been cheering Keir Starmer on. She even gave a name to their relationship 'the partnership in power'.

"This is nothing more than a cynical branding exercise, more jargon and empty rhetoric from a First Minister and a Labour party unable and unwilling to stand up for Wales’ interests.

"Whilst never complacent, I’m confident that Plaid Cymru’s positive vision for our nation and our can do attitude is proving more and more popular with Welsh voters.

"Support for Labour is on the wane, the latest sloppy slogan 'the red welsh way' will only lead to a dead end.

"Progressive voters can secure positive change by electing a Plaid Cymru government. It really is now a battle between Plaid and Reform."