WELSH Labour leader Ken Skates today slammed the government’s failure to act quicker on the wildfires spreading across Wales.

The Labour leader said he was disappointed that a summit called for by the Fire Brigades Union to deal with the lack of resources to tackle the blazes has not taken place yet.

Mr Skates also said his party were hoping to take part in that summit.

“We’ve also called for the Senedd to be recalled to discuss what needs to be done, not just this summer, but for future years.

“We are going see more wildfires taking place on a regular basis in the years to come, and the FBU is right that more support needs to be provided to ensure that they can respond.”

In a wide-ranging interview with the Star, the new Welsh Labour leader said he wanted members of his party to have better opportunities to contribute in discussions about radical policies.

“I want branches and constituency parties (CLPs) enthused, invigorated, and empowered to have those debates and discussions to bring forward ideas and proposals.

“It’s from the ground up that we really need to capture as many radical ideas as possible.

“What I want is a movement where people are enthused and excited and empowered to be involved in Labour.”

He said there were plans in place to make the Welsh Party conference in November an arena “to promote ideas and creativity.”

We talked about his support for former First Minister Vaughan Gething as his campaign manager, and then as a member of his cabinet, and how he could regain public trust in his party’s probity.

“We’ve got a review that’s being carried out by the former First Minister Carwyn Jones which will be reporting with recommendations,” Mr Skates said.

“We’ve also got a review into how the party came to be defeated so heavily in May, and there’ll be recommendations which we’ll be looking at.”

He said it was important that Welsh Labour listens to people and said he had been crisscrossing Wales, making sure that people have their say over the future direction of the party.

“In the past, we’ve demonstrated here in Wales how you can be radical using the levers that are at your disposal in government,” he said.

“We’re determined to be as creative as possible in how we respond to today’s challenges, but also how we embrace opportunities that we know are coming.”