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Eluned Morgan, first minister of Wales, has sought to distance herself from the Labour government in London on welfare and immigration as she fights for her political survival.
In an interview ahead of Senedd elections in May, she told the Financial Times: “I am going to be much firmer in making sure that it is Welsh Labour and the red Welsh way. Keir Starmer is not on the ballot paper in this election.”
Asked about changes to the immigration system announced by Labour last week and rhetoric on the issue in Westminster, Morgan said she would not be “making tough anti-immigration noises”. The first minister also said she believed the national government’s bungled attempt to remove winter fuel payments from pensioners had also been a mistake which “damaged us”.
The first minister met the FT at the Senedd, in Cardiff Bay, whose debating chamber is closed for refurbishment to accommodate a rise in members from 60 to 96 as part of a shake-up of the voting system. The cordoned-off assembly is a visual metaphor for a country facing political change.
Polls suggest Labour will lose control of the parliament in May for the first time since it was set up 26 years ago, with either the populist right-wing Reform UK or the nationalist Plaid Cymru emerging in the lead.
In a recent Senedd by-election in Caerphilly, a former stronghold for Labour for a century, Plaid narrowly beat Reform with the Labour candidate picking up only 11 per cent.
The 57-year-old Morgan, who has been first minister for just over a year, said all is not lost, although some polls suggest she is unlikely to win her own race, in the new constituency of Ceredigion Penfro.
Asked if she will be a Senedd member by next summer, she said: “I am going to work my socks off to make sure I do. I am confident that with a lot of hard work, we can turn this around.”
Part of that message involves trying to amplify areas where she believes Labour has delivered for the Welsh public: “We have free prescriptions. Many people don’t realise that’s not offered in England. We have a cap on care of £100 per week. There’s no limit in England. If you look at free hospital parking, free school meals in primary schools, we have delivered.”
Plaid’s counter-argument is that, under Labour, schoolchildren in Wales have the worst performance in the UK in the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) tests, child poverty figures are worryingly high and some health targets have been missed.
Morgan’s attempts to save Welsh Labour also involve emphasising the differences between her administration and Sir Keir Starmer’s national government.
One of Rachel Reeves’ first moves as chancellor was to withdraw the winter fuel payment from most pensioners, a decision since reversed.
“It did damage us. If you look at our older population, if you look at our housing stock, it was going to disproportionately affect Wales,” said Morgan.
Likewise, Morgan opposed the summer attempt to slash the disability bill: “Again, that would have had a disproportionate impact in Wales and it was only right for me to come out against it.”
The first minister is now pressing for Reeves to scrap the two-child benefit cap in the Budget.
Asked about this month’s U-turn on raising income tax, she appeared relieved. “A few months before an election it would not have been helpful,” she said.
Reform is attracting many older Welsh voters, including swaths of former Conservatives, who are concerned about migration levels. Plaid Cymru is meanwhile soaking up many younger, more left-wing, pro-migration voters.
Morgan is clear which side of the argument she is on, saying Wales was built on immigration.
“In the Rhondda, in about 1811 there was something like 500 people living there. A century later it was 150,000. We are talking about a nation built on waves of immigration,” she said. “Immigrants are making major contributions to our communities. In west Wales, where I live, 48 per cent of doctors and dentists were trained overseas.”
She said voters leaning towards Reform were “not racist” and were just disillusioned and seeking change: “But I do think there is a group within the party who are hell-bent on division.”
It was important that migrants always felt “welcome” in Wales, she added.
Asked about the national government’s efforts to get tough on migration, she replied: “What I won’t be doing . . . is chasing Reform down a path in order to win voters back. There is no way I’ll be making tough anti-immigration noises. That’s not who I am. It’s not the party we are in Wales.”
The loss of Caerphilly left Labour with 29 out of 60 Senedd members, and half are stepping down before May. Morgan insists this is because many are past retirement age rather than a sign of low morale.
Morgan insists she is still fighting for Labour to be the biggest party in Wales in May, although she does not rule out working with Plaid if necessary. “We’ve never had a majority . . . we’re well used to working with other parties,” she said.
Morgan will host a “Wales Investment Summit” on December 1 at the Celtic Manor convention centre near Newport.
She said the event would showcase Wales’s manufacturing prowess and its history of attracting inward investment, its nearness to London, its eight universities and its “good skills base . . . It’s going to be quite an extravaganza.”
