Labour rule in Wales taken for granted and under threat at Senedd poll
People take for granted that Labour will always be in power in Wales, the First Minister has said, as she warned that Reform UK are the 'biggest threat' to the nation's way of life ahead of key elections next year.
Baroness Eluned Morgan warned in her speech to the Welsh Labour conference that the Senedd elections will be a 'moment of reckoning' as Nigel Farage's party are 'rising', prompting people to ask 'big, serious questions about what kind of future they want for Wales'.
Reform is looking to end Labour's 26 years of domination at the Senedd elections in May next year.
Labour performed poorly in this year's local elections in England, which saw Mr Farage's party win a swathe of council seats.
'I think they're the biggest threat to Wales and our way of life,' Baroness Morgan told the PA news agency.
'I think people take Labour for granted in Wales. It's something that, you know, there's an expectation that we'll always be in power.
'So the things that are real in people's lives today, like free prescriptions, free parking in hospitals, free school meals for children in school. All of these things are political choices, and Reform would make different political choices.'
Asked if she felt the best way to counter the threat of Reform in the elections was to shift to the left, she said: 'What I'm clear is that we've got to stay true to the values of Welsh Labour.
'And the values of Welsh Labour are consistent with the red Welsh way … and there are times when we will be in a different place from the UK.
'And yes, I think the political centre of gravity in Wales is further to the left than throughout the UK.'
She had earlier accused Mr Farage of 'peddling fantasies about sending people's grandchildren down coal mines and reopening blast furnaces' while the Welsh government deals with the 'cost of industrial decline'.
Mr Farage has said his party wants to restart Port Talbot's blast furnaces, which were shut down in September, with a new electric arc furnace being built in their place.
The Prime Minister warned in his own speech that Mr Farage 'isn't interested in Wales' and has no viable plan for Port Talbot's blast furnaces.
Sir Keir Starmer said the Reform leader has 'no idea what he's talking about' when it comes to the furnaces, and has 'no plan at all'.
The Prime Minister had earlier warned of the prospect of the Tories, Reform UK and Plaid Cymru forming a coalition in the Senedd in what he called a 'backroom stitch-up'.
The elections to the Senedd will use a proportional system for the first time, meaning coalitions are likely.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out making deals with Plaid Cymru or Reform.
The Prime Minister said it would risk a 'return to the chaos and division of the last decade' and risk rolling back the progress his party is starting to make.
It would be 'working families left to pick up the bill', he added.
'Whether that's with Reform or with Plaid's determination to cut Wales off from the rest of the country, with no plan to put Wales back together,' he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
PM ‘incapable of sticking to a decision' after welfare U-turn
The reforms would only have made 'modest reductions to the ballooning welfare bill', but Sir Keir Starmer was 'too weak to hold the line', the Conservative Party leader is expected to say. In a speech to the Local Government Association Annual Conference in Liverpool on Wednesday, Ms Badenoch will criticise Sir Keir for creating a 'punishing welfare trap that shuts people out of going back to work'. The Labour party is 'making everything worse', she will say (Stefan Rousseau/PA) 'This week, the Prime Minister backed down on limited reforms that would have made modest reductions to the ballooning welfare bill,' she will say. 'He was too weak to hold the line. 'The result? A punishing welfare trap that shuts people out of going back to work. 'Right now, Labour are making everything worse. And Keir Starmer sums up exactly what's wrong with politics today. 'Now that his backbenchers smell blood, there's almost certainly another climb down on the two-child benefit cap in the offing. 'Labour told us 'the adults were back in charge', but this is actually amateur hour. The Prime Minister is incapable of sticking to a decision. 'If he can't make relatively small savings to a benefits bill that is set to exceed £100 billion by 2030, how can we expect him to meet his promised 5% defence spending, or ever take the tough decisions necessary to bring down the national debt?' On Saturday, the Prime Minister told the Welsh Labour conference the 'broken' welfare system must be fixed 'in a Labour way'. In a speech to the Welsh Labour conference, he said: 'We cannot take away the safety net that vulnerable people rely on, and we won't, but we also can't let it become a snare for those who can and want to work,' the Prime Minister said. 'Everyone agrees that our welfare system is broken: failing people every day, a generation of young people written off for good and the cost spiralling out of control. 'Fixing it is a moral imperative, but we need to do it in a Labour way.'
Rhyl Journal
an hour ago
- Rhyl Journal
PM ‘incapable of sticking to a decision' after welfare U-turn
The reforms would only have made 'modest reductions to the ballooning welfare bill', but Sir Keir Starmer was 'too weak to hold the line', the Conservative Party leader is expected to say. In a speech to the Local Government Association Annual Conference in Liverpool on Wednesday, Ms Badenoch will criticise Sir Keir for creating a 'punishing welfare trap that shuts people out of going back to work'. 'This week, the Prime Minister backed down on limited reforms that would have made modest reductions to the ballooning welfare bill,' she will say. 'He was too weak to hold the line. 'The result? A punishing welfare trap that shuts people out of going back to work. 'Right now, Labour are making everything worse. And Keir Starmer sums up exactly what's wrong with politics today. 'Now that his backbenchers smell blood, there's almost certainly another climb down on the two-child benefit cap in the offing. 'Labour told us 'the adults were back in charge', but this is actually amateur hour. The Prime Minister is incapable of sticking to a decision. 'If he can't make relatively small savings to a benefits bill that is set to exceed £100 billion by 2030, how can we expect him to meet his promised 5% defence spending, or ever take the tough decisions necessary to bring down the national debt?' On Saturday, the Prime Minister told the Welsh Labour conference the 'broken' welfare system must be fixed 'in a Labour way'. In a speech to the Welsh Labour conference, he said: 'We cannot take away the safety net that vulnerable people rely on, and we won't, but we also can't let it become a snare for those who can and want to work,' the Prime Minister said. 'Everyone agrees that our welfare system is broken: failing people every day, a generation of young people written off for good and the cost spiralling out of control. 'Fixing it is a moral imperative, but we need to do it in a Labour way.'
Western Telegraph
an hour ago
- Western Telegraph
PM ‘incapable of sticking to a decision' after welfare U-turn
The reforms would only have made 'modest reductions to the ballooning welfare bill', but Sir Keir Starmer was 'too weak to hold the line', the Conservative Party leader is expected to say. In a speech to the Local Government Association Annual Conference in Liverpool on Wednesday, Ms Badenoch will criticise Sir Keir for creating a 'punishing welfare trap that shuts people out of going back to work'. The Labour party is 'making everything worse', she will say (Stefan Rousseau/PA) 'This week, the Prime Minister backed down on limited reforms that would have made modest reductions to the ballooning welfare bill,' she will say. 'He was too weak to hold the line. 'The result? A punishing welfare trap that shuts people out of going back to work. 'Right now, Labour are making everything worse. And Keir Starmer sums up exactly what's wrong with politics today. 'Now that his backbenchers smell blood, there's almost certainly another climb down on the two-child benefit cap in the offing. 'Labour told us 'the adults were back in charge', but this is actually amateur hour. The Prime Minister is incapable of sticking to a decision. 'If he can't make relatively small savings to a benefits bill that is set to exceed £100 billion by 2030, how can we expect him to meet his promised 5% defence spending, or ever take the tough decisions necessary to bring down the national debt?' On Saturday, the Prime Minister told the Welsh Labour conference the 'broken' welfare system must be fixed 'in a Labour way'. In a speech to the Welsh Labour conference, he said: 'We cannot take away the safety net that vulnerable people rely on, and we won't, but we also can't let it become a snare for those who can and want to work,' the Prime Minister said. 'Everyone agrees that our welfare system is broken: failing people every day, a generation of young people written off for good and the cost spiralling out of control. 'Fixing it is a moral imperative, but we need to do it in a Labour way.'
