13 December 2023 , 11:19
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Mark Drakeford has quit as Welsh Labour leader and will resign as First Minister of Wales in the spring.
The 69 year old had previously confirmed he would step down as FM before the end of next year. He had also revealed plans to leave frontline politics completely by departing the Senedd at the 2026 election.
Speaking in Cardiff Bay today, he said his successor would be in place by Easter, with nominations to replace him as party leader due to open "shortly".
Mr Drakeford said on X/Twitter: “When I stood for election as leader of Welsh Labour, I said I would stand down during the current Senedd term. That time has now come. It has been a great privilege to serve as leader of this party.
“Together, we have achieved a huge amount over the last five years in some of the toughest times we have known. Our greatest task is still ahead of us – to return a Labour UK Government and start repairing the huge damage which has been inflicted by the Tories over the last 13 years. I will work tirelessly to secure that Labour victory and to continue delivering on the promises we made to people all across Wales in 2021 to deliver a stronger, fairer and greener Wales.”
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Delivering a press statement, he added: "Nominations for my successor as Welsh Labour leader will open shortly and I am confident that the process can be concluded by the end of the spring term and that will enable the name of the winner of that contest to be put to the Senedd before the Easter recess."
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Labour leader Keir Starmer hailed Mr Drakeford’s “outstanding career”. He said: "Mark has set a clear standard for public service in UK politics, always putting others before himself. During his five years as First Minister, against a backdrop of austerity, instability in Westminster and navigating the pandemic, he has delivered for Wales with steely determination and quiet authority. Above all, Mark is a kind and decent man, who lives his Labour values.
"A proud Welshman, Wales too can be proud of Mark, for his fight for working people. He’s a true titan of Welsh and Labour politics. It has been a pleasure to work alongside him and we all wish him the very best for his retirement."
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “I wish Mark Drakeford all the best as he moves on from his many years of public service.”
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said: “As he announces his departure I recognise and pay tribute to the First Minister’s dedication to public life and in particular the tone of his leadership through the pandemic.”
His announcement triggers a race for the top political job in Wales.
Frontrunners include Education Minister Jeremy Miles, 52, and Economy Minister Vaughan Gething, 49. Hannah Blythyn, 44, the Deputy Social Partnership Minister, is also tipped to throw her hat into the ring.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror at Labour’s conference in October, Mr Drakeford admitted he would “miss being at the very centre of affairs”, which was “a huge privilege” - but insisted he was looking forward to “not trying to fit so many things into the day”. Labour has been in power in Cardiff Bay since the Assembly, now called the Senedd, was created in 1999.
Speaking three months ago, Mr Drakeford urged his successor: “Be bold, because being in power for 25 years, the risk is that you get used to it and you just settle back into it and I think the Welsh Government in this Senedd term is a genuinely radical and ambitious government doing things at the cutting edge of what’s needed.”
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He said Welsh Labour needs “to go on being that radical force, not a force that looks like we have just become used to being in government”. In retirement, he is looking forward to spending more time on his allotment growing more raspberries and “extraordinarily good” runner beans - “the best for years and years”. He added: “My poor, neglected allotment might see me a bit more than it has.”
Statement in full
I have today formally notified the chair of the Welsh Executive Committee of my intention to stand down as Leader of Welsh Labour in March 2024.
When I stood for the leadership, I said that, if elected, I would serve for five years. Exactly five years have passed since I was confirmed as First Minister in 2018. Nominations for my successor as Welsh Labour Leader will open shortly.
The process will be concluded by the end of the Spring term, to enable the name of the winner to be put to the Senedd before the Easter recess. In the meantime, I remain your First Minister. We have a busy few months ahead of us – full of major events and challenges, which I will be fully focused on:
A child poverty strategy
The final report of the independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
The future of steelmaking in Wales
The conclusion of consultations about making council tax fairer and the reform of the school year
Module 2B of the Covid-19 UK Inquiry
Co-operation Agreement commitments to deliver
And a Budget to pass.
There will be plenty of time for political obituaries and retrospection once I cease to be First Minister. But not before. In a five-year period, which has seen Wales deal with austerity, Brexit, the covid pandemic, the climate crisis, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and four different Prime Ministers – so far – there will be lots to reflect on.
For now, I will continue to deliver on the promises we made to people across Wales. The next Welsh Labour Leader and First Minister will, I hope, have the opportunity, which has not come my way, to work with a newly-elected Labour Government in London. I will work as hard as I can to see that Labour Government elected.
It has been a huge privilege to lead both the Welsh Labour party and the Welsh Government. I have also had the enormous fortune to have played a part in Welsh politics during the first quarter century of devolution.
None of that would have been possible without the consistent support and enormous hard work of my talented Cabinet colleagues and successive Labour groups. Now it is time to look forward to the next five years across the UK and to the next 25 years of devolution in Wales.
That journey begins today.