People of Wales will set agenda, says new leader
As Labour leader Baroness Morgan takes over from Vaughan Gething as First Minister, she brings a glimmer of hope for rural communities.
After a brief premiership plagued by controversy, Vaughan Gething has been replaced as Welsh First Minister by life peer and former member of European Parliament Baroness Eluned Morgan.
Running unopposed has meant no full leadership contest has taken place, so Baroness Morgan, the former Welsh Health Secretary, has not yet set out what she will do as First Minister. She said she would listen to the public and that the people of Wales would “set the agenda for us”.
Former cabinet Minister for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies is now deputy to Baroness Morgan, which may bode well for the rural community. Mr Irranca-Davies said: “We have a real opportunity here going forward where you have got four governments across the UK who want to work together. That gives me hope for the future.”
As Baroness Morgan becomes the third Welsh leader in four months, there is much rhetoric from the NFU and other organisations about the damage this period of instability has done to rural communities and Welsh farming.
The Welsh government has taken heavy criticism for its short-term, reactive policies and failed adherence to manifesto promises, in part due to personnel changes in top jobs. It is hoped a better relationship with Westminster and a more established Welsh political landscape will benefit the rural community in Wales and usher in satisfactory conclusions to major rural developments, such as the smooth transition to the Sustainable Farming Scheme by 2026 (News, 24 July).
BASC Wales director Steve Griffiths told ST: “We are looking forward to working with the new First Minister and the team she puts together. We are hopeful that we can develop a positive relationship and will highlight the benefits of shooting and conservation, not only to the economy of Wales but also to the health and wellbeing of all those involved and the many positive benefits to biodiversity.”
Welsh wildfowler and author Gethin Jones said: “It was interesting to note that the announcement that Eluned Morgan would become the First Minister of Wales was made at the Royal Welsh Show, the one event in Wales where the countryside meets politics.
“It remains to be seen whether the new administration will be favourably disposed towards fieldsports and the rural community but, hopefully, this will become clearer when Ms Morgan appoints her cabinet.”
