Welsh Labour vows to carry on as Vaughan Gething loses vote of no confidence

First Minister of Wales Vaughan Gething has refused to resign after losing a confidence motion in the Welsh Parliament this afternoon.

The Conservatives have put forward the vote of no confidence following criticism of donations received by Gething’s campaign for the leadership of the Welsh Labour Party.

Gething, who was visibly emotional during the motion debate, lost the no confidence vote in part due to two Labour colleagues being ill. He lost the motion by 29 votes to 27.

With Labour holding 30 of the 60 seats in the parliament, Gething would need all of his Labour colleagues to back him.

However, the chair of the Labour group in the Senedd Vikki Howells earlier told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast that two members are unwell and will be unable to vote.

During debate on the motion, Howells, accused the Conservatives of trying to “shift the spotlight from their own record of abject failure.”

She added: “I believe it would be a travesty for this non-binding Tory gimmick of a motion was to be used to subvert democracy.”

Gething has come under fire over a campaign donation from a company owned by an individual who was previously convicted of environmental offences.

Plaid Cymru’s Heledd Fychan, said: “You must know deep down this is wrong, and you must regret accepting the money.

“It’s not too late to stop hiding behind the rules, and loophole in them. It is not too late to apologise.”

Gething has previously signalled that he would not stand down as First Minister if he lost the vote.

A Labour spokesperson told LabourList: “Today’s motion is a political stunt from the Tory party aided and abetted by Plaid Cymru.

“The motion does a disservice to the Senedd. If the Tories and Plaid believe that they together represent the views and values of the people of Wales, they should submit a vote of no confidence in the government.

“These games have a real life impact. Today it meant that Wales was not fully represented at the D-Day commemorations in Portsmouth.

“Vaughan is now heading to Normandy to represent Wales at tomorrow’s commemoration event. Vaughan is focussed on delivering for our NHS and the economy and helping to return the UK Labour Government Wales is crying out for.”

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