Carwyn Jones elected Labour leader in Wales

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

Carwyn Jones has tonight been elected to succeed Rhodri Morgan as leader of the Welsh Labour Party. Jones, a Bridgend AM, won with 52% of the vote and will be installed as Welsh First Minister next week.

Mr Jones beat Edwina Hart and Huw Lewis at the end of an eight-week contest.

In his acceptance speech, Jones said:

“We know there’s a difficult task ahead. But tonight let us say that in this building at this event, that tonight our fightback starts.”

After saying there are no “no-go” areas for Labour in Wales, Jones continued:

“I also said I want to be a leader for the whole of Wales and that remains. To win back Wales, Welsh Labour has to listen and it has to learn. We have to make sure that we listen to people, that we keep our promises. I want my country to succeed. I want to make a difference to the lives of the people of Wales. I am proud to be Welsh, I’m proud to be British, and I’m proud to be Labour.”