SOCIALISTS in Welsh Labour decided today they would not endorse either candidate for party leader and first minister of Wales.
The Welsh Labour Grassroots (WLG) group said it had sent an extensive list of progressive policies to Jeremy Miles and Vaughan Gething but had decided not to recommend either in the week the leadership ballot opens.
The left group compiled a policy document to help shape debate during the election and sent it to the two candidates.
“We were impressed that they both responded, taking the concerns of the grassroots seriously,” a WLG spokesperson said. “We were less impressed with the detail of their responses — or rather, their lack of detail.”
The WLG’s forthcoming manifesto will focus on housing, environment, health, the economy, poverty, and Wales’s place in the world.
The group said its manifesto is less a shopping list of policies than a serious proposition for a vision for government that will hopefully take the party beyond 2026 and the next Senedd election.
“We hope to engage the candidates, and more importantly, members, in a serious discussion of the radical solutions needed to overcome the challenges we face.
“[For] a new Cymru, proud of a radical government that will tackle not just the problems of here and now, but the overwhelming problems to come,” a WLG spokesperson said.
“Our economic vision for Cymru is inseparable from our social vision; at its heart is the working class and our communities.”
The group said that, as socialists, it was internationalist and called for a ceasefire not just in Gaza but also Yemen, Myanmar and all other conflict zones.
“We must build on our commitment to be a ‘nation of sanctuary’ and transform ourselves into a ‘nation of peace’,” the spokesperson said.
Referring to the 10 broken pledges of UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, the group warned members that the Welsh contest should be about policy and not personalities.
“If members use socialist ideas in their communications with the candidates, we can help ensure Welsh Labour retains its proud history of grassroots informed policy, staying true to our socialist ideals.”
The left group said it would be publishing its manifesto of ideas and it will feature in a Morning Star feature later this week.
The membership ballot opens February 16 and closes March 14; the result will be announced on March 16.
