The Senedd will be returning from its summer break on the 6th of August to confirm Eluned Morgan as the new first minister of Wales. The new Welsh Labour leader will be installed through a roll call vote of Members of the Senedd (MSs) before she is opportuned to officially resume her duties as first minister.
Many members of the Senedd are currently on vacation, and arrangements are already being put in place to allow them to participate from abroad. The health secretary, who was voted for as leader unopposed on Wednesday, will become the first woman in Wales to hold the office of first minister. She takes over from Vaughan Gething, who was made to leave his role last week after four senior government members resigned.
Vaughan Gething’s tenure was disturbed by controversy over campaign donations and gifts and the removal of a minister. In a communiqué that was issued by the parliament, it was announced that the meeting would be held at 11:00 BST and conducted in a “hybrid” format, providing opportunities for members to choose between attending in person or through a Zoom call. The Welsh Conservatives asked why the recall could not have happened “straight away.”
This makes it the first time in history that the Senedd has been recalled for a vote to confirm another first minister, following a formal request from Mr. Gething. Earlier arrangements for him to remain until September and have a final first minister’s questions session were not accepted after it became very obvious that Ms. Morgan was the only person to replace him.
Eluned Morgan, 57, has served as the MS for Mid and West Wales since he was elected in 2016. The Cardiff-born health secretary was appointed to oversee the NHS after the last election by former first minister Mark Drakeford. She has been involved in politics for a long time, first being voted in 1994 as the youngest member of the European Parliament at age 27. Also known as Baroness Morgan of Ely, she is a life peer who is currently on a leave of absence from the upper chamber of the UK Parliament.
