What the politicians vying to succeed Mark Drakeford as Wales’s first minister have to say
Last week, Mark Drakeford announced he would be stepping down as first minister of Wales after five years in the role.
Two politicians have thrown their hats in the ring to succeed him as the leader of Welsh Labour.
Jeremy Miles is minister for education and the Welsh language and was previously counsel general – the government’s top legal job.
Vaughan Gething is the Welsh government’s economy minister and was previously health minister during the pandemic.
Sky News spoke with both of them to see what they would offer as first minister.
Jeremy Miles
Vaughan Gething. Pic: Morgan James
Mr Miles said he thinks he can “offer the leadership that Wales needs in the years ahead”.
“I’ve got a track record of delivery in a number of big government portfolios, and in 20 years of working life before politics, so I feel that I am ready to lead.”
Mr Gething said he had a “level of experience that no previous first ministerial candidate has had”.
“The extraordinary times that we lived through in the pandemic, when you had to make really difficult, big calls and go out and front them up on a daily basis,” he said.
Whichever candidate wins will mark a significant milestone in Welsh politics.
Mr Gething would be Wales’s first black first minister, and Mr Miles the government’s first openly gay leader.
But both candidates said it was “disappointing” that no women had entered the race to lead the party and said it was important to “listen” to and “understand” their experiences.
Jeremy Miles speaking with two Santas
Vaughan Gething visiting a Wales training session at the World Cup in Doha
What about policies?
On the tourism tax, which is due to come before the Senedd by the end of next year, both candidates insisted Wales remained “open for business”.
“We want to see a Wales which is absolutely open for business, which encourages people to come to Wales, to enjoy the facilities, the tourist offer that we have got in all parts of Wales,” Mr Miles said.
“Wales is absolutely open for business,” Mr Gething said.
“If you go around many parts of the world, North America, go to most of mainland Europe, you’ll find people are paying a small tourism levy of some sort or another.”
They said it was right the default 20mph speed limit in Wales’s built-up areas was being reviewed – but they were both committed to it in principle.
“I think there’s a case for bringing forward that review, making sure that councils have the guidance they need to make the discretions they already have within a national framework,” Mr Miles said.
“I think the policy’s the right policy but I think we need to review it and to bring forward the point at which that happens.”
Mr Gething added: “I think we’re going to need to review it. There’s not a question about that, it’s about how and when.
“I’ll have a bit more to say as we go into the months ahead, but we had a commitment in our manifesto to introduce a new limit,” he said.
Read more:
What’s in the Welsh government’s draft budget?
Welsh public has time to ‘get used to’ 20mph limits
A look back at Mark Drakeford’s career
How would both candidates sum up their respective leadership styles?
“Values-driven, fresh ideas and bold,” Mr Miles offered, while Mr Gething said he was “experienced, engaging and ambitious”.
Both candidates will outline a range of policies in the New Year.
The result of the leadership election will be announced on 16 March.
Nigel Farage has told Sky News he “can’t be pushed or bullied” by anybody after Elon Musk said the Reform MP “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead his party.
In an interview with Sky’s political correspondent Ali Fortescue, Mr Farage said he has spoken with the billionaire owner of X since his criticism on 5 January, when Mr Musk said: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”
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Asked if the pair are still friends, Mr Farage said: “Of course we’re friends. He just says what he thinks at any moment in time.”
He added he has “been in touch” with Mr Musk, though wouldn’t divulge what they had discussed.
“Look, he said lots of supportive things. He said one thing that wasn’t supportive. I mean, that’s just the way it is,” Mr Farage said.
Musk and Farage met in December. Pic: PA
Asked if he was afraid to criticise the tech mogul, the Clacton MP said the situation was “the opposite”, and he openly disagreed with Mr Musk on his views on far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Mr Farage said: “What he [Musk] was saying online was that effectively Tommy Robinson was a political prisoner and I wouldn’t go along with that.
“If I had gone along with that, he wouldn’t have put out a tweet that was against me.
“By the way, you know, I can’t be pushed or bullied or made to change by anybody.
“I stick to what I believe.”
Mr Musk has endorsed Robinson and claimed he was “telling the truth” about grooming gangs, writing on X: “Free Tommy Robinson”.
But Mr Farage said that Robinson, who is serving an 18-month jail term for contempt of court, isn’t welcome in Reform UK and neither are his supporters.
He said: “If people within Reform think Tommy Robinson should be a member of Reform and play a central role in Reform, that disagreement is absolutely fundamental.
“I’ve never wanted to work with people who were active in the BNP. I’ve made that clear right throughout the last decade of my on/off political career. So that’s what the point of difference is.”
Despite their disagreement, Mr Farage said he is confident Mr Musk will continue to support Reform and “may well” still give money to it.
The entrepreneur has previously spoken positively about Reform UK and there have been suggestions he could make a multi-million-pound donation in its favour.
Devolution plans ‘denial of democracy’
Mr Farage was speaking from Reform’s South East of England Conference, one of a series of regional events aimed at building up the party’s support base.
Elsewhere in the interview, he hit out at the Labour government’s devolution plans which could see some local elections scheduled for May postponed.
This would apply when councils seek permission to reorganise, so that smaller district authorities merge with other nearby ones to give them more sway over their area.
Mr Farage, who is hoping to make gains in the spring contests, claimed the plans are not about devolution but about “elections being cancelled”.
“I thought only dictators cancelled elections. This is unbelievable and devolution or a change to local government structures is being used as an excuse,” he said.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage earlier this month. Pic: PA
He claimed Tory-controlled councils are “grabbing it like it’s a life belt”, because they fear losing seats to Reform.
“It’s an absolute denial of democracy,” he added.
Mr Farage was also asked why many Reform members don’t like to speak on camera about why they support his party.
He said he did not accept there was a toxicity associated with Reform and claimed there was “institutional bias against anybody that isn’t left of centre”.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and divers have been dispatched to find two sisters who vanished in Aberdeen three days ago.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV in the city’s Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday.
The siblings were captured crossing the bridge and turning right onto a footpath next to the River Dee in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Police Scotland has launched a major search and said it is carrying out “extensive inquires” in an effort to find the women.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Local officers, led by specialist search advisors, are being assisted by resources including police dogs and our marine unit.”
Aberdeenshire Drone Services told Sky News it has offered to help in the search and is waiting to hear back from Police Scotland.
CCTV of the sisters. Pic: Police Scotland
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The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Police said the Torry side of Victoria Bridge where the sisters were last seen contains many commercial and industrial units, with searches taking place in the vicinity.
The force urged businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review CCTV footage recorded in the early hours of Tuesday in case it captured anything of significance.
Drivers with relevant dashcam footage are also urged to come forward.
CI Bruce added: “We are continuing to speak to people who know Eliza and Henrietta and we urge anyone who has seen them or who has any information regarding their whereabouts to please contact 101.”
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