Next first minister of Wales to be revealed on Saturday

The result of the race to become the next first minister of Wales will be revealed on Saturday.

Jeremy Miles, the current Minister for Education and Welsh Language, and Vaughan Gething, the Minister for the Economy, have been competing to see who will lead Welsh Labour, and the country.

Which of the two has succeeded will be announced on Saturday morning, after voting closed at midday on Thursday.

They are bidding to replace Mark Drakeford, who has been First Minister since 2018 and announced his intention to resign late last year.

Whoever succeeds will be the country’s fifth leader since the National Assembly for Wales, now called the Senedd, was established in 1999.

Only Labour members or those who are part of an affiliated organisation, such as a trade union, were able to participate in the vote – meaning about 100,000 people were able to take part.

Mr Gething had the backing of most of the large unions and Lord Kinnock, who led the UK party from 1983 to 1992.

Mr Miles saw support from the majority of the Labour Members of the Senedd.

The leadership race has not been without controversy, most of which has centred on Mr Gething.

There have been a string of concerns raised around £200,000 of donations to Mr Gething from a company which was found guilty of environmental offences in January.

Atlantic Recycling, which is part of Dauson Environmental Group and controlled by David Neal, gave Mr Gething £100,000 on December 18 2023 and £100,000 on January 11 2024.

Atlantic Recycling was also fined £300,000 for one of its worker’s deaths in February after it pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety at work rules.

Earlier this week the BBC revealed that Mr Gething had lobbied regulators in favour of the company, asking Natural Resources Wales to ease restrictions on Atlantic Recycling in 2016.

Mr Gething and his team have always insisted the donation was declared in line with Senedd and Electoral Commission rules and that the minister is committed to transparency.

Early in the campaign concerns were also raised over the Unite union’s backing of Mr Gething, after his opponent was disqualified because he has never held “elected lay office as representatives of workers”.

Mr Miles said it was “a new rule that no-one was aware of” and that members were unhappy.

But Unite insisted it had carried out the nomination process correctly and Mr Gething said it was up to the union to determine its own democratic processes.

Unlike previous Labour leadership elections, all the votes are equally weighted.

Selection in the past has used an “electoral college” system, giving greater weight to MPs and Members of the Senedd.

Mr Drakeford is not expected to stand down immediately, with his final first minister’s questions on March 19.

A vote will also need to take place in the Senedd at which opposition groups can put forward their own candidates.

With Labour the largest party, it is unlikely that any other group would take the role.

The handover in power comes as Wales faces a challenging time, with farmers protesting, NHS waiting lists hitting record highs and an economy recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to the PA news agency, Mr Drakeford accepted there would be issues for his successor to deal with.

He said: “At whatever point anybody takes on this job there will always be an in-tray that is full, and it will always be an in-tray that’s got some challenging issues in it.”

Asked what advice he would give his successor, Mr Drakeford told them to “be bold” and to “push the boundaries”.

He said: “I’ve long argued that the danger for my party having been in power for an extended period in Wales is that we might look as though we’re simply sort of resting on our laurels, just sort of sitting back and just turning the handle on government.

“The Labour Party is ambitious, it is radical, it is reforming, it will grasp the really challenging issues.”