Vaughan Gething has vowed to carry on as First Minister of Wales despite losing a no-confidence vote, saying he is “proud to be the First Minister of Wales to serve and lead my country”.
He lost the vote on his leadership in the Senedd on Wednesday, with 29 votes against him to 27 for.
The First Minister told broadcasters: “I’m here, proud to be the First Minister of Wales to serve and lead my country. That’s what I’ve done today, it’s what I’ll carry on doing.”
Mr Gething said it had been a “very disappointing afternoon”, branding the motion a “transparent gimmick” that was impacted by two members of his party being unwell.
Without the absence of Hannah Blythyn, who Mr Gething recently sacked from his government, and Lee Waters, the no-confidence motion was unlikely to have passed.
“On ill health grounds we have always paired, that means you even up people in one party to another.
“We did that for more than three months with the leader of the Conservative Party.”
The motion was non-binding and will not force Mr Gething to stand aside from his role as First Minister but the result will be embarrassing for him.
The First Minister said he would be carrying on in his role and would be travelling to Normandy on Wednesday evening to take part in a D-Day commemoration event.
A statement from Plaid Cymru leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, following the vote of no confidence in First Minister Vaughan Gething. pic.twitter.com/J2AIWyOtlR
— Plaid Cymru ??????? (@Plaid_Cymru) June 5, 2024
Mr Gething was visibly emotional during the debate and could be seen wiping tears from his eyes.
Speaking to broadcasters, he said his integrity had been brought into question with “months and months of innuendo” that was “damaging and hurtful”.
He said: “Where is the evidence I have ever done anything in a way that I should not have as a minister?
“I can tell you there is no evidence of that because it has not happened.
“Today was an exercise in muck-throwing – the range of different things that were said that members know are simply not true is really quite disgraceful.”
He said: “The Senedd has spoken on behalf of the people of Wales – we have no confidence in the Labour First Minister.
“Without every Labour member backing him in tonight’s vote, Vaughan Gething must do the honourable thing and resign to ensure no further instability at the heart of the Labour Welsh Government.
“His government is clearly in disarray and as such is unable to face the significant challenges ahead for Wales.
“By honouring the result of the vote, Welsh Government and our Senedd can move on from this regretful episode.”
Senedd Members have backed the Welsh Conservatives’ motion of no confidence in Vaughan Gething.
Both Gething AND the Labour Party took cash from the donor who caused this stink.
This isn’t just about Vaughan Gething.
There are serious questions for @Keir_Starmer too.
— Andrew RT Davies (@AndrewRTDavies) June 5, 2024
Andrew RT Davies, the leader of the Welsh Conservatives, said Mr Gething had “lost the confidence of the people of Wales”.
He said: “He has lost the confidence of the Senedd.
“The only person who is still batting for Vaughan Gething is Keir Starmer.”
Mr Gething, who has been the Welsh Labour leader since March, faced the no-confidence vote after being plagued by scandal during his short time in office.
Concerns were raised after Mr Gething accepted a donation from a man convicted of environmental offences during his run to be Welsh Labour leader.
Mr Gething had also refused to show any evidence to explain why he sacked Senedd member Ms Blythyn from his government, after he accused her of leaking messages to the media.
He said the leaked message was from a section of an iMessage group chat with other Labour ministers and related to internal discussions within the Senedd Labour group.
He told the UK Covid-19 Inquiry that lost WhatsApp messages were not deleted by him, but by the Welsh Parliament’s IT team during a security rebuild.
Mr Gething has always insisted that all rules were followed when he took the donation and denied the leaked message contradicted the evidence he had given to the inquiry, adding that it did not relate to pandemic decision-making but “comments that colleagues make to and about each other”.
