Vaughan Gething, the First Minister, is set to face a vote of no confidence in the Senedd on Wednesday due to controversy surrounding donations to his recent leadership campaign, questionable Covid-era text messages, and the sacking of a minister for allegedly leaking information to the media. While Welsh Conservatives tabled the vote, Plaid Cymru will probably support the motion. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has backed Mr Gething, saying he is “doing a good job” and that he is “looking forward to being with him in this campaign where we will campaign together for, what I hope will be, the next Labour government.” Mr Gething believes that he will not lose the vote, however, if he were to lose, the result would not be binding on the First Minister, but it would put him in a difficult position.
The leader of the Conservatives in the Senedd, Andrew RT Davies, has said that “it’s time to put an end to the obfuscation, the drift and the infighting and vote no confidence in Vaughan Gething.” The Plaid Cymru needs to back the vote for it to succeed, and one Labour Senedd member would need to abstain. Since the Labour party holds 30 of the 60 seats in the Senedd chamber, the result is uncertain.
Mr Gething accepted £200,000 of donations to his recent Welsh Labour leadership campaign from a company whose owner was convicted of environmental offences, leading to pressure and allegations that the donations were not legal. However, the First Minister has always maintained that the donations were declared and registered according to the rules. Moreover, the £31,000 of unspent campaign funding is now being donated by the Labour Party to “progressive causes.”
Ms Reeves, the shadow chancellor, has shown her support for Mr Gething, calling the vote a “really a desperate gimmick from the Conservative Party.” Plaid Cymru, which withdrew from its co-operation agreement with the Welsh Labour government in May, believes that Mr Gething has undermined the office of First Minister and the people of Wales’ confidence in accepting donations from a convicted polluter.
This vote of no confidence comes in the middle of a general election campaign and would put the UK Labour Party in an awkward position if Mr Gething were to lose. The context surrounding this vote is different from recent events in Scotland, where the former first minister resigned before facing a vote of no confidence
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