“The road to 2021 is like no other” – Mark Drakeford’s speech at ‘Connected’

Below is the speech delivered by Welsh Labour leader and First Minister Mark Drakeford this afternoon at ‘The Road to 2021 Rally’ at Labour Connected 2020.

The road to 2021 is like no other. Next May’s elections will be dominated by the sadness and sorrows of coronavirus – the lessons we learn from it and the future we fashion. Here in Wales, a Labour government knows that as the crisis hit, it has been the collective effort of social solidarity that has bound us all together.

That we get through because of the daily dedication of those who have housed the homeless, worked in our schools when the pandemic was at its height, who’ve kept the lights on, the water flowing, and the food on our tables. And of course, those who put themselves at risk in our care homes, surgeries and hospitals.

For us, the road to 2021 is paved by public services not private profit. By social partnership not division and confrontation. Here in Wales, all that is shaped by the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act – a Labour act in which everything we do today is tested not simply against its impact here and now but what it means for those who come after us. A future for them that is created through the practical actions of bread and butter socialism. A future of social justice, economic justice and environmental justice for all.

For 20 years, the Labour Party has won the trust of people in Wales. Trust that your concerns are our concerns. That the things that matter to you are the things that we stand for in Welsh Labour. On the road to 2021, we have to earn that trust again. To win every vote we are privileged to have cast for us. To show that their hardship and damage of coronavirus can still be a catalyst for profound and lasting change.

A radical agenda for these radically difficult and different times. Assertive in standing up for the hard won rights of devolution but working too, for a successful UK. Angie, with your help and with the help of Keir, Nia and the fantastic Labour movement, the road to May 2021, is both a journey but also a destination to which we dedicate ourselves. A destination, which is fair, and works for us all. Diolch yn fawr.