NEW First Minister of Wales Vaughan Gething gave a stark warning today that his government’s priorities would lead to public service cuts.

However, in a nod to the language used by British Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Gething said his government would be “relentlessly focused” on its priority of protecting the NHS and local government budgets in Wales.

Mr Gething was clear that the National Museum of Wales, which announced today that it is considering the closure of its Cardiff city centre museum and gallery, would not be bailed out by his government.

“The money we have is what we have, and our prioritisation on health spending means we have to make hard choices elsewhere in the budget,” Mr Gething said.

He was asked about a controversial donation of £200,000 to his leadership campaign from a company director twice convicted of environmental offences, and how much of this had been given to Welsh Labour.

Mr Gething said that his campaign accounts were being finalised and would be published in due course, adding that if any money from his campaign was left over, this would be given to the party as required.

He said that he hoped the long-running industrial action by doctors in Wales could be resolved.

“We have found some extra money from our end-of-year accounts after we had completed our budget process and hope we can resolve the pay dispute with the doctors,” Mr Gething said.

But he refused to be drawn on whether a higher pay settlement for doctors would lead to more money for other NHS staff who have already settled their pay round.

The Morning Star asked Mr Gething how his government would help steelworkers in their industrial dispute with Tata Steel after Unite members voted for industrial action and with Community and the GMB also holding ballots.

“I have met with the steel unions and we need to see if the strike ballots lead to further talks and change the negotiations with Tata Steel,” he said.

The First Minister was less enthusiastic than his predecessor Mark Drakeford over former Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price’s proposal to use planning law to place a preservation order on the Port Talbot blast furnaces to stop their closure.

“We want investment and need a healthy future for the industry and how we make primary steel for use in our green industries in Wales,” he said.