FM pledges to stand up for Wales against Westminster

THE First Minister has said she will “call out” the UK Labour government if they “get it wrong for Wales”.

- By GEORGE THOMPSON and DAVID HUGHES

In a major speech a year away from the next Senedd elections, Eluned Morgan insisted Welsh Labour will “do things our way, shaped by our Welsh values, our people and our priorities”.

She said: “If, in our eyes, Westminster gets it wrong for Wales, we will call it out.”

Referencing the TV show Gavin & Stacey, Mrs Morgan added: “There will be times when what's right for Essex is not right for Barry.”

She used the speech to call for ministers to rethink cuts to the winter fuel allowance, and demanded Wales gets more funding to make coal tips safer and for the Crown Estate to be devolved, as it has been in Scotland.

But Plaid Cymru branded the speech a “desperate attempt by a floundering First Minister to reset her premiership”.

And the Welsh Conservatives called it a “desperate attempt to save the Labour Party’s bacon in Wales”.

Speaking in Cardiff Bay yesterday, Mrs Morgan said: “We know that splits and spats make for easy news, but this isn’t drama. This is honesty, this is responsibility. This is what leadership looks like.

“So, when we disagree, we will say it. When we see unfairness, we'll stand up for it.