Can the new First Minister bring stability to Welsh politics? This question was asked in August when members of the Senedd were summoned from holiday to confirm Eluned Morgan as the sixth First Minister of Wales.
Following Vaughan Gething’s resignation in July, only Morgan – or Baroness Morgan of Ely – sought to replace him. After making headlines as the youngest member of the European Parliament in 1994, Morgan makes history again as the first female First Minister of Wales.
Morgan becomes First Minister at a time of deep uncertainty. Despite Labour's political hegemony in Wales since the 1920s, Morgan faces the challenge of bringing together a divided party after four cabinet members resigned from the Welsh government. Their resignation was in protest against a questionable donation received by Gething and his handling of a controversial sacking. As First Minister, Morgan must deal with the long NHS waiting lists, respond to farmers’ backlash against the agricultural subsidies scheme, and convince another political party to support her budget.
