Vaughan Gething to stand down from Welsh Parliament at election

Former first minister of Wales Vaughan Gething has announced he will not be standing for re-election in 2026.

In July he stepped down from the top job just four months after getting it.

Mr Gething had been embroiled in controversy since taking over in March, and was dogged by questions over a £200,000 campaign donation from a businessman convicted of environmental offences.

Eluned Morgan, who succeeded Mr Gething as first minister, paid tribute to him saying he had made a “truly historic contribution to Wales”.

Mr Gething told members of Cardiff and Penarth Labour party on Saturday he will not stand again before he shared a statement on social media.

The Senedd member for Cardiff South and Penarth said: “As a Welshman born in Zambia it has been a great honour to serve in the Welsh government for over a decade.

“The opportunity to make a difference alongside inspiring people and movements, determined to make change happen, is a special privilege.

“One I will always be grateful for and proud of.”

He said he had spoken to First Minister Eluned Morgan to confirm he would not be seeking a role in government and would support her from the back benches.

Paying tribute, Ms Morgan said in a statement that her predecessor had made “a truly historic contribution to Wales in some of the toughest of circumstances”.

“From helping to steer Wales through the pandemic and delivering one of the fastest vaccine rollouts on the planet to landing major investment in our semiconductor industry,” she said.

“Vaughan has delivered time and again and has advanced the cause of devolution in Wales.

“He has always been a team player who has shown me and others kindness and support even at times of enormous pressure in the roles he has carried out for the people of Wales.

“I know that Vaughan will go on to make important contributions to our country in the years ahead.”

Mr Gething worked as a lawyer before he was first elected to the National Assembly for Wales, as it was called then, to represent Cardiff South and Penarth in 2011.

He rose through the ranks from backbencher to cabinet member, as it was as Welsh health minister that Mr Gething made the biggest impression, as the Covid pandemic threw unprecedented attention on the Welsh government and increased his profile as a politician.

Mr Gething became the first minister of Wales on 20 March 2024, but his campaign itself was marred by controversy over his acceptance of a £200,000 donation from a firm owned by a man previously convicted of environmental offences.

Mr Gething insisted that he followed the rules around campaign donations.

In May, Mr Gething sacked one of his cabinet ministers – Hannah Blythyn – after messages from the Covid pandemic were leaked to the website Nation.Cymru.

The leaked messages showed Mr Gething claiming he would delete all correspondence from an iMessage group of Welsh ministers.

But Ms Blythyn denied that she was the source of the leak and Nation.Cymru later said she was not the source of the information.

Mr Gething then said that the leaks “could only have been of one member’s phone”.

He provided no evidence publicly to support his claim, but said he would “rather not go through this detail in public”.

Later in May, Plaid Cymru ended its co-operation deal with Labour in the Senedd, after Plaid’s leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said he was “deeply concerned” about the donations Mr Gething had accepted during his leadership campaign.

In June, Mr Gething lost a vote of no confidence in the Senedd – when two Labour members were off sick – but insisted he would not resign.

Four members of the Welsh government’s cabinet resigned at the same time in July, calling for Mr Gething to go.

He responded with a statement confirming that he was stepping down as first minister.

“It has been the honour of my life to do this job even for a few short months,” he said.