Four members of Welsh government quit amid calls for First Minister Vaughan Gething to resign
16 July 2024, 10:36 | Updated: 16 July 2024, 11:14
Four Welsh ministers have quit the government in protest at Vaughan Gething's leadership, amid calls for him to stand down as First Minister.
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Mr Gething has come under sustained criticism in recent months for his decision to sack former minister Hannah Blythyn.
Ministers Jeremy Miles, Lesley Griffiths, Julie James and the Welsh government's top legal adviser, counsel general Mick Antoniw, all announced their resignations on Twitter.
They say he should resign after losing a vote of no confidence last month.
The First Minister has previously insisted he has the party's support.
A day of shame for Labour. The self indulgence we’ve seen throughout Vaughan Gething’s leadership has resulted in the breakdown of governance in Wales. But ministers like Jeremy Miles, who served in Gething’s Cabinet, are equally culpable. Wales will remember. https://t.co/AR36fObbqp
— Andrew RT Davies (@AndrewRTDavies) July 16, 2024
In response to this, Andrew RT Davies MS, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, told LBC: "After months of damaging political paralysis to Wales’ detriment, Labour’s house of cards is falling down and the First Minister is likely teetering on the edge of resignation."
In a tweet, he added: “Vaughan Gething’s time as First Minister is rightly coming to an end.
“But Labour cannot fool the people of Wales.
"These Ministers, like Jeremy Miles, sat in his Cabinet, they stood by his side, and they are culpable for the breakdown of governance in Wales.
“Wales will remember.”
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said: "Vaughan Gething has led a government of chaos and put his own self-interest before the interests of the people of Wales.
"For months, the First Minister's poor judgment, aversion to scrutiny and 'do nothing' approach to governing has undermined the office of First Minister and brought Welsh politics into disrepute.
"Seldom have heads of government in a democracy disregarded the will of its legislature by carrying on despite losing a vote of confidence.
"The Labour Party has thrown its weight behind Vaughan Gething and Keir Starmer has acted as his main cheerleader.
"The ministers who resigned today are equally culpable, they should have acted far sooner than their eleventh hour intervention when it was a case of one bad headline too many."
