Vaughan Gething’s first speech as First Minister

Vaughan Gething has made his inaugural speech to the Senedd this afternoon after being elected First Minister.

The fuller report is here, however this documents the First Minister’s opening remarks in his new role.

The new First Minister’s first speech is recorded in full below:

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you to the Members who have supported my nomination today.

My sincere thanks to fellow Members who have supported my nomination today. I am particularly grateful to my predecessor, Mark Drakeford, for his nomination, and for the support that he has offered me not just in recent days, but through the many years that we have worked so closely together. I don’t think any of us would ever want to live through those dark days of the pandemic again. But, like other colleagues here, I was incredibly grateful to have Mark as our First Minister through that time. History will rightly judge Mark for the compassionate, collegiate and ethical leadership that shone through those dark days for our nation. It is said that no legacy is so rich as honesty. Mark’s leadership is characterised by those words. Yesterday’s contribution placed that firmly on the record once more. So, can I today one again say ‘diolch yn fawr’, Mark, for everything that you have done for Wales? [Applause.]

Now, during Mark’s contribution following his election nomination as First Minister, he recalled how, on difficult days, Rhodri Morgan would utter the words, ‘Tin hat on’, moments before heading into First Minister’s questions. This was in December 2018, and I remember Mark asking his watching family to make sure that Father Christmas would deliver him a tin hat that year. So, to my relatives watching on today, I’d really rather not wait until Christmas; sometime in the next three weeks would be ideal.

But, Dirprwy Lywydd, as we look back at those stories of the people who have shaped devolution in its first quarter century, it is striking that there are now growing numbers of people here in Wales who have never known a time without it. In my slightly misspent youth, I included some time campaigning in the Yes for Wales movement that helped to win the referendum that made days like today possible. For a growing number of Members in this Chamber, devolution—Welsh solutions to Welsh problems and opportunities—has been a constant feature of our adult lives. In recent years, we have pushed the boundaries of what is possible with devolution. We did it, for example, to keep Wales safe. But in that same period, we have seen unprecedented hostility towards democratic Welsh devolution from a UK Government that is determined to undermine, frustrate and bypass the Welsh Government and this Senedd. As well as leaving Wales with less say over less money, it is deeply corrosive, wasteful and undemocratic.

As First Minister, I look forward to standing up for Wales and for devolution in the weeks and months to come, but I relish the opportunity to co-operate for Wales with a new UK Government that invests in partnership and in Wales’s future. I relish it because, like so many Members and friends here today, I want Wales to thrive in the sunshine that hope and social justice can offer all of us, no matter what our background, what we look like or who we love.

Mae Cymru yn haeddu mwy nag ysbeidiau heulog.

Wales deserves more than just sunny spells.

From sunny intervals, where hope too often feels hard to find, we can embrace fresh optimism and new ambition for a fairer Wales, built by all of us.

Dirprwy Lywydd, I have spoken in recent days about my determination to offer a listening ear and the hand of friendship to anyone in this Senedd, and beyond, where we share that ambition for our country’s future. Delivering on the needs of the people of Wales requires collective commitment to listening. In the face of new forces of division, restoring trust and recovering dignity in the way that we speak to one another is more important than ever. Those who seek to amplify nasty populism are hungry for a disunited Wales. Our task, I believe, is to prevent the victory of division and hate, by building bridges, by listening, by recreating a bond of trust between people and power. These are the ingredients of a kinder and more effective politics—one where we overcome the ruthless efforts to make our warm nation turn cold.

As First Minister, I will bring together a Government that constantly makes the positive case for progressive politics, to remind people that only through coming together can we achieve for the many. So, I choose to make a stand for positivity, to never fan the flames that are hurtful to people and damage our standing in the world, to stand for a set of ideas and policy innovations that are rooted in Welsh values, to stand for a leadership grounded not in bitterness, resentment or the fruitless search for a past that never was, but a leadership based on hope, to advance the case for human rights, for solidarity, and for a commitment to play a collective international role in addressing the challenges that we face.

Dirprwy Lywydd, I cannot let this election nomination pass without saying something about its historic significance. I am, after all, the first elected leader of my party and, indeed, my country with an ‘ap’ in their name. [Laughter.] We have, of course, today voted also to ensure that Wales becomes the first nation anywhere in Europe to be led by a black person. It is a matter of pride, I believe, for a modern Wales, but also a daunting responsibility for me, and one that I do not take lightly. But, today, we can also expect a depressingly familiar pattern to emerge, with abuse on social media, racist tropes disguised with polite language, people questioning my motives, and, yes, they will still question or deny my nationality, whilst others will question why I am playing the race card. To those people, I say once more: it is very easy not to care about identity when your own has never once been questioned or held you back. I believe the Wales of today and the future will be owned by all those decent people who recognise that our Parliament and our Government should look like our country, people who recognise that our hope and ambition for the future relies on unleashing the talent of all of us, a Wales that recognises that we can celebrate our differences and take pride in all those things that draw us together and make us who we are. That is the Wales that I want to lead, a Wales full of hope, ambition and unity. Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Diolch, bawb.

The speech ended to applause in the chamber.

The Deputy Presiding Officer said, “Vaughan, may I wish you all the best in your new role as First Minister of this Senedd and of Wales. Good luck.”

(Top pic via the Senedd)