Starmer leaves more questions than answers on visit to city

ONE of the most frequent criticisms of the two Labour leaders who between them hold the reins of power in Cardiff Bay and Westminster is that one isn't really interested in Wales and the other won't stand up to her own party leader.

- CONOR GOGARTY

From missing HS2 money to unfulfilled devolution aims, critics say there has been little evidence of the promised “partnership in power” between First Minister Eluned Morgan and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Those concerns could hardly have been better exemplified than in our interview of the two leaders together on Friday in Cardiff.

Not least in the bizarre moments that followed my attempt to question Eluned Morgan on accusations from within her own party that the UK Government has “attacked devolution”.

After Ms Morgan failed to directly answer, Sir Keir Starmer waved a hand between me and the First Minister. Spluttering, he called an end to my questions despite none having been properly addressed.

The pair were visiting Ely & Caerau Children's Centre to talk about £2m of Welsh Government funding to revamp the site as well as the UK Government's new child poverty strategy.

After arriving I was asked to sit in a festively-adorned room alongside two radio reporters ahead of a “huddle” in which we could ask questions. For the next two hours, we waited in the room while broadcast media were allowed to film the two leaders walking through the rest of the centre and meeting families who use it.

When we asked UK Government aides why we couldn't film this, there was no clear answer.

The aides were very inquisitive about what I'd be asking the leaders. When I mentioned four general themes, the aides initially gave no objection to me scrutinising the politicians on those issues - which were, by the way: accusations of devolution rollback; the backlash against plans to scrap jury trials in many cases; the horrifically dilapidated state of the University Hospital of Wales; and reports Mr Starmer is planning to offer the controversial former First Minister Vaughan Gething a peerage.