Lobbying campaign 'underway' to get Vaughan Gething a seat in the House of Lords

Martin Shipton

Labour sources have told Nation.Cymru that a lobbying campaign is underway with the aim of securing a peerage for former First Minister Vaughan Gething.

Several party insiders have suggested that Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens has been involved in lobbying on Mr Gething’s behalf, although a source close to her has categorically denied that is the case.

The pair worked together at Thompsons Solicitors in Cardiff before they became politicians.

Mr Gething resigned as Welsh Labour leader in July 2024, just four months after narrowly defeating Jeremy Miles in a leadership contest. Less than two weeks later he also quit as First Minister.

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Scandals 

He was forced out because of his involvement in a succession of damaging scandals.

He accepted donations to his Welsh Labour leadership campaign totalling £200k from a company owned by businessman David Neal, who had been given two suspended prison sentences for dumping toxic sludge in the protected wetlands landscape of the Gwent Levels.

He also told fellow ministers during the pandemic that he was deleting messages in a group chat because they would be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. A screenshot of his incriminating message was leaked to Nation.Cymru. Ministers and other Members of the Senedd had expressly been told not to delete messages.

Mr Gething later misled the UK Covid-19 Inquiry by saying in a sworn statement that messages had been deleted when his mobile phone was reconditioned by the Senedd’s IT department.

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Liability

Eventually Labour came to see Mr Gething as more of a liability than an asset and he was leant on to resign. In September 2024 he announced that he would not be seeking re-election as an MS in next year’s Senedd election. This happened after his successor, Eluned Morgan, said there was no place for him in her Cabinet team.

Last month we reported how senior Labour figures were suggesting that Mr Gething may resign from the Senedd in the coming months, triggering a by-election at a difficult time for Welsh Labour.

One said: “It’s clearly not in Labour’s interest to have a by-election at a time when Reform UK is doing very well in the polls. While Cardiff South and Penarth is one of the least likely Labour seats in Wales to fall to Reform, nothing could be guaranteed, especially at a by-election. It’s a headache Eluned Morgan can do without.”

Rolls Royce

There have been suggestions that he may take a job with Rolls Royce, which has expressed an interest in opening an office in a business park linked to a plan for a new railway station called Cardiff Parkway to be built in the St Mellons district of the capital which Mr Gething has been supporting as the local MS.

There are also suggestions that he may relocate shortly to Ireland for family reasons.

We have additionally been told that while the case for Mr Gething getting a peerage has been argued at Westminster, there has been pushback from Downing Street. One source suggested that while a peerage was not on the cards, a knighthood was a possibility.

However, it was also pointed out that a mere knighthood would not provide Mr Gething with anywhere near the influence or potential earning power he could expect as a member of the House of Lords.

A Labour insider said: “The rumours of Vaughan going are everywhere, and few would be sorry to see him go. Eluned has done so much to steady the ship after Vaughan Gething’s disastrous tenure. Nobody wants to be dragged back to arguing about dodgy donations and stinking dumps in west Wales.

"Jo Stevens must realise how the voting public would view him getting a peerage. Winning next year’s elections has to come before her getting a job for her mate. I have every faith that Starmer's people see this, and I’m sure they will just ignore the lobbying.”

A source close to Ms Stevens said: “This is completely and utterly untrue on every level.”

Another senior Labour source said: “I wouldn’t expect them to confirm anything about a peerage or a knighthood. Honours offers are like national security matters.”