WELSH Labour agreed this weekend to an election timetable for its next leader, with the coronation of Baroness Eluned Morgan of Ely becoming increasingly likely.
The party had been gearing up for a bruising contest after First Minister Vaughan Gething was forced to step down last week following the resignation of four senior cabinet members, saying they did not have confidence in his leadership.
Mr Gething’s supporters gave anonymous briefings to the media, saying former minister Jeremy Miles should not stand as he would not be supported and would be a divisive leader.
Mr Miles bowed to that pressure and nominated Barnoness Morgan, cabinet secretary for health and social care, for the party leadership.
Baroness Morgan supported Mr Gething’s leadership and told the BBC this morning that she was considering standing with Huw Irranca-Davies as her deputy, claiming that since he was a supporter of Mr Miles, this would be a unity ticket to unite the divided Senedd group.
“This is something we’re testing, there’s been a huge groundswell of support within the party for that idea,” Baroness Morgan said.
“People want to look to the future, they want to look to the next election, they want us to refocus on delivering for the people of Wales.”
If Baroness Morgan succeeds, she would be the first female leader of Wales during the 25 years of uninterrupted Welsh Labour electoral success.
The party’s Welsh executive committee met on Saturday to appoint a procedures committee to oversee the leadership election, setting out a timeline for the announcement of a new leader on September 17.
Mr Gething stays on as party leader and First Minister during the contest and will take his final First Minister’s Questions on September 17 before the new Welsh leader is formally installed the following day.
All Labour Party members who joined the party before July 20 will be eligible to vote under the one-person-one-vote process championed by former first minister Mark Drakeford.
Candidates will need to get the support of Senedd Labour group members, with nominations closing on July 24 and candidates’ names published the same day.
Candidates will then fight to win nominations from party peers, MPs, constituency parties, council groups and affiliated unions before the ballot opens on August 22.
