Principled resignations matter.

Howe 1990. Johnson Cabinet 2022. Wales Now.

I have no doubt that it was hard for all of the three Welsh Ministers and the Counsel General who resigned yesterday to do so. They have served loyally through the difficulties of recent months, holding the line through the General Election. It is obvious that each of their resignation letters has been individually written. The letters are personal in tone and style. They express sadness. They all mark the historic nature of Vaughan Gething’s election as the first black leader of a nation in Europe. They each highlight different things, but cumulatively reflect on the donation issue, the manner of Hannah Blythyn’s sacking, the recent no-confidence vote, and the likelihood that, under Vauthan Gething’s leadership, the Welsh Government will be unable to govern and get its budget through. I remember Rhodri Morgan saying that the test of a government was whether it could get its budget through. Welsh Labour faces a challenge in doing that at the present time.

It is worth picking up the odd sentence from each letter. Lesley Griffiths explicitly referred to the fact that there was ‘no leak inquiry’ before Hannah Blythyn’s sacking. The purpose of detailed examination of the issues is in part to get at the facts, in part to ensure an audit trail that justifies subsequent action. This is true in inquiries into breaches of the Ministerial Code more generally. We have seen this in past inquiries in Wales and in the UK. Even Boris Johnson published the Indpendent Adviser’s report on Prit Patel, even if he didn’t act on it. Lesley’s resignation letter is here:

In Mick Antoniw’s letter, he makes it clear that he thinks that it is unacceptable for Vaughan to ignore the No Confidence motion, a matter of ‘major constitutional importance’.. He also, tellingly, says Vaughan Gething should ‘put the country first’. Where have we heard this phrase before? That’s right, from Keir Starmer.

Mick’s letter is here:

Julie James’ letter is equally trenchant. She refers to the ‘mistakes’ in handling the donation and other issues. She had clearly asked him to stand down. She notes the damage to the country and the party and rightly, in my view, warns that these issues now threaten ‘the continued existence of the devolution journey itself.’ Julie’s letter is here:

Jeremy’s letter refers to the leadership contest between him and Vaughan.

I started writing this post yesterday, then paused it when I got the news that Vaughan Gething had announced his intention to stand down as Welsh Labour Leader and First Minister once a new leader is elected. It is unfortunate that this process will take us into the autumn, but that is what the rules say, apparently. So repairing the damage ‘immediately’, which Jeremy rightly identifies as necessary in his letter, isn’t going to happen.

The three Ministers who have resigned, and the Counsel General, are people I respect immensely. I worked with Lesley and Julie in government, and I have known Mick since 1970s student politics. I know Jeremy less well, since he was elected in the Assembly election which I lost, but I campaigned in his constituency for him prior to his election.

Taking the decision to resign is a very difficult step. It has immediate personal consequences financially, and there is a loss of status and responsibilities. It is particularly hard when you are doing a job that you enjoy, as all of these four were. I think they were right to resign, and to draw matters to a head. It is very sad, and it should not have come to this. But these were resignations of principle, and should be respected in that way. Just as the decisions of people who declined to take a job under Vaughan in the first place should be respected.

We should also respect Vaughan Gething’s decision to recognise to step down, as well as recognising his achievement in becoming Europe’s first black leader of a nation. I thought that it was unfortunate that Opposition parties had sought to make this an issue of integrity. I don’t doubt Vaughan’s integrity. For me, it has always been a question of judgement. (Something I said yesterday in radio interviews but which was dropped from my S4C interview).

I thought Mark Drakeford put it well when he said that decisions taken by Vaughan Gething had come to haunt him:

In the end, I think he came to the very difficult decision but the correct decision, that he was never going to get to a point where he would be able to focus on the things he wanted to in the way he wanted to do them, without these stories always being the filter through which news of his first ministership was going to be reported

I do not intend to become a regular commentator on day to day matters in the Welsh Government. This is an additional post this week, in recognition of the special circumstances. My regular weekly Once upon a time in Wales post will be out tomorrow.