Vaughan Gething: Why the first minister of Wales is facing a confidence vote

Published

1 year ago

June 5, 2024

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Wales’s first minister Vaughan Gething is set to face a motion of no confidence on Wednesday.

After serving as both health and economy minister, Mr Gething made history in March after he was elected the first black leader of a European nation.

He has faced a turbulent first couple of months in office and a motion of no confidence has been tabled in his leadership.

Why was the vote of no confidence called?

The vote’s been called after concerns were raised, including by some within Welsh Labour, around a £200,000 donation to Mr Gething’s leadership campaign from a company whose owner was previously convicted of environmental offences.

Secondly, text messages from a ministerial group chat from during the pandemic were leaked last month, in which Mr Gething appeared to suggest his intention to delete messages.

This has prompted accusations from some opposition members that he may have misled the COVID Inquiry, but Mr Gething denies the messages were related to Welsh government business.

Hannah Blythyn, the deputy minister for social partnership was later sacked by Mr Gething for allegedly leaking to the media.

Plaid Cymru then withdrew from a cooperation agreement with Labour which had seen the party lend its support to the government on dozens of policies.

Who tabled the motion and who will support it?

The motion has been tabled by the Welsh Conservatives, who have 16 seats in the Senedd. Plaid Cymru have said they will support it too, they have 12 seats but one of its members is the presiding officer (Llywydd) and does not normally vote.

The sole Liberal Democrat member has also said she will vote for the motion.

Labour has 30 seats, though, half of the Senedd’s total number. One of the Labour MSs is the deputy presiding officer and therefore does not normally vote due to his role.

What happens if there’s a tie?

If there is a tie, then whoever is in the presiding officer chair at the time must vote to maintain the status quo. In this case, that would be against the motion of no confidence.

What if a member can’t attend?

If, for whatever reason, any member cannot attend the Senedd for a vote, then proxy votes can be arranged.

Is the vote binding?

As this is a motion of confidence in an individual minister and not the government as a whole, the vote is non-binding and the first minister would not have to step down, even if he were to lose the vote.

What have the first minister/Labour said?

Labour has accused the Conservatives of “playing politics” by bringing forward the motion.

Mr Gething said at First Minister’s Questions on Tuesday that he was “looking forward” to responding to the debate. He also reiterated that all rules had been followed and the ministerial code had not been broken.

What about the opposition parties?

The Conservatives say Mr Gething has “treated the people of Wales with contempt” and that his “authority is shot”.

Plaid Cymru say the first minister has “undermined his own office” and that his unwillingness to admit any error “signifies a worryingly care-free attitude”.

The Liberal Democrats say the first minister has “not met” the standards expected of him.

UK

Zack Polanski and Nigel Farage are polar opposites in politics, but have one thing in common

Published

4 hours ago

October 23, 2025

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Zack Polanski and Nigel Farage are polar opposites in politics, but have one thing in common

Zack Polanski and Nigel Farage might be polar opposites when it comes to politics – but they do have one thing in common.

The pair are both cutting through in a changing media landscape when attention is scarce and trust in mainstream politics is scarcer still.

For Farage, the Reform UK leader, momentum has been building since he won a seat at the general election last year and he continues to top the polls.

But in the six weeks since Polanski became leader of the Greens, membership has doubled, they’ve polled higher than ever before while three Labour councillors have defected. Has the insurgent firebrand finally met his match?

“I’m sure I don’t need to say this, but I despise Nigel Farage’s politics and disagree with him on almost everything,” Polanski tells Sky News.

“But I think his storytelling has undoubtedly cut through and so yes there has been a huge part of us saying ‘If Farage can do that with a politics of hate and division, then it’s time for the Green Party to do that with a politics of hope and community’ and that’s absolutely what I intend to keep doing.”

Polanski was speaking after a news conference to announce the defections of the councillors in Swindon – a bellwether area that is currently led by a Labour council and has two Labour MPs, but was previously controlled by the Tories.

It is the sort of story the party would previously have announced in a press release, but the self-described “eco populist” is determined to do things differently to grab attention.

He has done media interviews daily over the past few weeks, launched his own podcast and turbocharged the Greens social media content – producing slick viral videos such as his visit to Handsworth (the Birmingham neighbourhood where Robert Jenrick claimed he saw no white people).

Polanski insists that it is not increased exposure in and of itself that is attracting people to his party but his messaging – he wants to “make hope normal again”.

“I’m not going to be in a wetsuit or be parachuting from a helicopter”, he says in a swipe at Lib Dem leader Ed Davey.

“I think you only need to do stunts if you don’t have something really clear to say and then you need to grab attention.

“I think when you look at the challenges facing this country right now if you talk about taxing wealth and not work, if you talk about the mass inequality in our society and you talk about your solidarity with people living in poverty, with working-class communities, I think these are the things that people both want to hear, but also they want to know our solutions. The good news is I’ve got loads of solutions and the party has loads of solutions. “

Some of those solutions have come under criticism – Reform UK have attacked his policy to legalise drugs and abolish private landlords.

Polanski is confident he can win the fight. He says it helps that he talks “quite quickly because it means that I’m able to be bold but also have nuance”. And he is a London Assembly member not an MP, so he has time to be the party’s cheerleader rather than being bogged down with case work.

As for what’s next, the 42-year-old has alluded to conversations with Labour MPs about defections. He has not revealed who they are but today gave an idea of who he would welcome – naming Starmer critic Richard Burgon.

Like Burgon, Polanski believes Starmer “will be gone by May” and that the local elections for Labour “will be disastrous”.

He wants to replace Labour “right across England and Wales” when voters go to the polls, something Reform UK has also vowed to do.

Could the Greens be kingmakers?

Luke Tryl, director of More in Common, says this reflects a “new axis of competition” as frontline British politics shifts from a battle of left vs right to a battle of process vs anti-establishment.

Farage has been the beneficiary of this battle so far but Tryl says Polanski is “coming up in focus groups” in a way his predecessors didn’t. “He is cutting through”, the pollster says.

However, one big challenge Polanski faces is whether his rise will cause the left vote to fragment and make it easier for Farage to win – something he has said he wants to avoid at all costs.

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And yet, asked if he would form a coalition with Labour to keep Farage out of power in the event of a hung parliament, he suggested he would only do so if Sir Keir Starmer is no longer prime minister.

“I have issues with Keir Starmer as prime minister,” he says. “I think he had the trust of the public, but I would say that’s been broken over and over again. If we had a different Labour prime minister that would be a different conversation about where their values are.”

He adds: “I do think stopping Nigel Farage has to be a huge mission for any progressive in this country, but the biggest way we can stop Nigel Farage is by people joining the Green Party right now; creating a real alternative to this Labour government, where we say we don’t have to compromise on our values.

“If people wanted to vote for Nigel Farage, they’d vote for Nigel Farage. What does Keir Starmer think he’s doing by offering politics that are similar but watered down? That’s not going to appeal to anyone, and I think that’s why they’re sinking in the polls.”

UK

Paratrooper known as ‘Soldier F’ not guilty of Bloody Sunday murders

Published

4 hours ago

October 23, 2025

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Paratrooper known as 'Soldier F' not guilty of Bloody Sunday murders

A former paratrooper accused of murdering two civilians in the Bloody Sunday shootings in Northern Ireland 53 years ago has been found not guilty.

Soldier F – who cannot be identified for legal reasons – was accused of killing James Wray and William McKinney during disorder after a civil rights parade on 30 January 1972 in Londonderry, also known as Derry.

The veteran was also found not guilty of five attempted murders at Belfast Crown Court on Thursday.

He had denied all seven charges.

Thirteen people were shot dead by the Parachute Regiment on the day in question.

Soldier F did not give evidence, but the court heard about previous statements from two paratroopers – known as G and H – who were in Glenfada Park North along with F.

The prosecution said their testimony was direct evidence that the defendant had opened fire in the area.

However, the defence argued that they were unreliable witnesses as their statements were inconsistent with each other and with other witnesses who gave evidence.

The trial was held in Belfast in front of a judge, not a jury.

Delivering his judgment, Judge Patrick Lynch said the evidence presented against the veteran fell well short of what was needed for conviction.

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