Mark Drakeford officially steps down as Wales’s first minsiter
Mark Drakeford has officially stepped down as Wales’s first minister.
Mr Drakeford will offer his resignation to the King this evening.
It is expected his resignation will be formally accepted on Wednesday morning, before the new first minister is confirmed.
The 69-year-old has been in the role since December 2018 and is expected to remain a member of the Senedd until the next election in 2026.
He took part in his final First Minister’s Questions (FMQs) on Tuesday afternoon and received a standing ovation from members across the political divide.
“The advice to any performer is always to leave them wanting more,” he said.
“After this afternoon, everybody will be looking forward to hear quite a bit less from me, I’m sure of that.”
Drakeford during his final FMQs as first minister. Pic: Welsh government
Mr Drakeford said when he was elected it was “certainly impossible to predict the state of perma-crisis which we were about to enter”.
“I’m looking forward to continue to play my part from the back benches, to supporting the new first minister and the Welsh government,” he added.
Overcome with emotion, he thanked those with whom he worked, including civil servants and members of the Senedd.
“The last 12 months have been the hardest and the saddest of my life,” he said.
“People will not see beyond the chamber those small acts of kindness that happen every day, from people in every part of this chamber that help someone to get through those very, very difficult times.”
His wife, Clare Drakeford, died in January last year.
Mark Drakeford prepares for FMQs. Pic: Welsh government
Leader of the Welsh Conservatives Andrew RT Davies thanked Mr Drakeford for his leadership, which he said “benefited this country in coming through some of its darkest hours”.
“Thank you on behalf of the Welsh Conservatives for what you’ve done, both for me personally, but also for the country of Wales and for this institution and parliament,” he said.
“At a time of political challenges and the deepest personal adversity, Mark [Drakeford] brought thoughtfulness and good grace to public life at a time when such qualities were needed the most,” Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth added.
Vaughan Gething was elected the new leader of Welsh Labour on Saturday.
Mr Gething is expected to be confirmed in the role as Labour has 30 of the Senedd’s 60 seats.
Read more:
Who is new Welsh Labour leader Vaughan Gething?
What problems are facing Wales’s next first minister?
A look back at Mark Drakeford’s career
But Plaid Cymru, which is part of a co-operation agreement with Labour, has confirmed it will nominate its own leader for the position of first minister.
A party spokesperson told Sky News: “Plaid Cymru will nominate Rhun ap Iorwerth in the vote to elect a new first minister of Wales tomorrow.
“The math dictates that Vaughan Gething will secure a majority vote, but in the current political climate, questions about judgement and transparency requires alternative candidates to be considered.”
If approved as first minister by the Senedd, as expected, Mr Gething will become the first black leader of any European nation.
A planned settlement between the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission and crypto exchange KuCoin will likely be delayed after a policy shift at the CFTC to deprioritize cases against crypto companies under the Trump administration.
CFTC attorney John Murphy submitted a letter on April 21 to District Judge Valerie Caproni, asking for more time to secure approval for a deal negotiated under the Biden administration, reported Law360.
“It appears unlikely that such authorization will be granted in the near term,” he said, referencing a recent statement by acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham that the agency’s enforcement division was to deprioritize cases against crypto companies.
The CFTC charged KuCoin with “multiple violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations” in March 2024.
According to the Justice Department, which also filed charges against KuCoin and two founders for violating Anti-Money Laundering laws, the exchange received more than $5 billion and sent more than $4 billion in “suspicious and criminal funds.”
KuCoin, trading under Mek Global Limited, reached a $297 million settlement with the Department of Justice in January and agreed to exit the US market for at least two years.
In December, the CFTC and KuCoin informed the court that they reached an agreement in principle to settle the case, however terms and details of the proposed deal were not disclosed.
In March, KuCoin asked the judge for a 14-day stay to address further negotiations in line with President Trump’s executive order curtailing enforcement actions against the digital asset industry. However, this request was denied, with the judge pressing for negotiation status updates.
No majority at CFTC
When Pham announced in February that the Commission would wind down its practice of regulation by enforcement, she also noted that terminating active cases would be more difficult to deal with.
The CFTC needs a majority to dismiss a case or authorize its settlement, and there is currently no majority, with two members from each party sitting on its governing body.
This could change if the Senate confirms the appointment of Trump nominee Brian Quintenz to lead the financial regulator.
Both parties have requested an additional 60 days or until the Commission provides “definitive direction” on the matter.
Related: US regulators FDIC and CFTC ease crypto restrictions for banks, derivatives
On April 21, the CFTC’s Divisions of Market Oversight issued a request for comment to better inform them on the potential uses, benefits, and risks of perpetual contracts in derivatives markets.
“Innovation and new technology have created a renaissance in markets that presents new opportunities that are accessible to more people, as well as risks,” said Pham.
Magazine: Altcoin season to hit in Q2? Mantra’s plan to win trust: Hodler’s Digest
Politics
Starmer and Zelenskyy discuss ending Russia’s ‘brutal war’ – as Putin says says he is open to bilateral talks on longer ceasefire
Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about ending Russia’s “brutal war” on Ukraine in their latest phone call on Easter Monday, as Vladimir Putin said he was open to bilateral talks.
The prime minister and Ukrainian president spoke on Monday afternoon, when Sir Keir “reiterated his iron-clad support for Ukraine“.
A Downing Street spokesperson added that the prime minister “said that the UK supports Ukraine’s calls for Russia to commit to a full ceasefire and that now is the time for Putin to show he is serious about ending his brutal war”.
“They discussed the latest developments on the Coalition of the Willing, and looked forward to further progress towards a just and lasting peace,” the spokesperson added.
Mr Zelenskyy later said on social media that he had a “good and detailed conversation” with the prime minister, and added Ukrainian officials will be in London for talks on ending the war with Russia on Wednesday.
“We are ready to move forward as constructively as possible, just as we have done before, to achieve an unconditional ceasefire, followed by the establishment of a real and lasting peace,” he added.
The Ukrainian president added that the 30-hour Easter truce, which both Kyiv and Moscow accuse the other of violating, showed that Russia “are prolonging the war”.
It comes as Mr Putin proposed bilateral talks with Ukraine on a longer ceasefire, which would mark the first time Russia held such talks since a failed peace deal soon after the invasion in 2022.
Speaking to a state TV reporter, the Russian president said: “We always have a positive attitude towards a truce, which is why we came up with such an initiative (the Easter truce), especially since we are talking about the bright Easter days.”
When asked about Mr Zelenskyy’s calls to extend the 30-hour ceasefire into a 30-day pause on civilian targets, he added: “This is all a subject for careful study, perhaps even bilaterally. We do not rule this out.”
The Ukrainian president said on Sunday evening that the Russian army had “violated Putin’s ceasefire more than 2,000 times” during the day, and accused Russia of “failing” to “uphold its own promise of a ceasefire”.
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From Saturday: Why Putin offered an Easter truce?
It also comes after Donald Trump has said he hopes Russia and Ukraine “will make a deal this week,” after he and his secretary of state Marco Rubio warned that the US will walk away from efforts to broker a peace deal unless there are clear signs of progress soon.
The US president said on his Truth Social platform that both countries would “start to do big business” with the US after ending the war.
Read more from Sky News:
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Last month, Ukraine accepted Mr Trump’s proposal for a 30-day truce, but Mr Putin refused to back a full 30-day ceasefire, saying crucial issues of verification had not been sorted out.
He then said he would agree not to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. However, both sides have accused each other of breaking the moratorium on attacks on energy targets and at sea.
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