Vaughan Gething’s time as first minister has been far from easy. He’s faced criticism over a now infamous 200 thousand pound donation from a company which illegally dumped waste on a conservation site and has refused to give that money back. On Wednesday he faces a vote of no confidence, so this could be one of the last times we see him at the helm.
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00:00 "There's a vote of confidence in you tomorrow here, First Minister. Are you going to win?"
00:03 "And I understand why the Conservatives have put forward a motion tomorrow, a non-binding
00:08 vote, but a vote nevertheless in this Parliament. There is a formal method available. I understand
00:18 why the Member puts the vote forward. I understand at this time where people are making choices
00:24 why he does not want to talk about his party's record."
00:27 With more questions about the £200,000 donation, the First Minister took his opportunity to
00:32 defend his past decision making and compare them to decisions made by Tory Ministers in
00:37 his position throughout the pandemic.
00:39 "Look at the judgements that I have made and compare them. Look at the judgements that
00:45 I have made on test and trace. Look at the judgements that I have made on PPE during
00:51 the pandemic. No corrupt VIP lane in Wales on my watch. Look at the judgements he has
00:57 made defending Boris Johnson to the hilt, backing Liz Truss to the hilt. When she made
01:04 her speech to Conservative conference, his response was that's a cracking speech."
01:09 The vote of no confidence was of course top priority during the session for Members and
01:13 Plaid Leader, Rhiannap Yorwerth, wants it to be taken seriously, despite it technically
01:19 being non-binding.
01:20 "It's a rare thing for the Senate to hold votes of no confidence, especially in the
01:27 First Minister, and so it should be. The office of the First Minister has been undermined
01:34 to such an extent that I have no doubt that the people of Wales have lost confidence in
01:39 him."
01:40 "The idea that votes of no confidence are not commonplace is just not borne out by any
01:44 cursor examination of the record. There have been three votes of no confidence within this
01:48 Senate term. Every health minister has faced a vote of no confidence at some point in time.
01:55 So this is part and parcel of what happens.