• last year
Transcript
00:00 Arriving to face the verdict of the Senedd. Arriving knowing he was likely to lose.
00:05 Opposition parties working as one. A vote of no confidence called by the Conservatives,
00:09 backed by Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats. And two Labour MS' absent unwell.
00:16 The opposition refusing to pair or withdraw two of their members to cancel that absence out.
00:22 Labour hold half the Senedd seat, so even one member down and Vaughan Gething loses.
00:27 Now remember, the vote is non-binding, so Mr Gething doesn't have to resign,
00:32 and Labour have made it clear that he won't. But it puts him in a really difficult position
00:37 after months now of relentless pressure and scrutiny about those donations.
00:41 Behind the scenes, the opposition parties have been excited all day.
00:46 And when the debate kicked off, they got stuck straight in.
00:49 It is not general election year end. It is not a vote of confidence in the government.
00:55 It is not a vote of confidence in the Labour group or the Labour party.
00:59 It is about what the First Minister has undertaken and the calls that he has made.
01:05 The First Minister's lack of judgement and contrition, along with a bunker mentality
01:12 when faced by indignation from all sides of the chamber, and the Welsh public,
01:19 I believe, do not demonstrate the required skill sets for the office holder of First Minister.
01:25 Earlier, there had been support for the FM.
01:27 I have never been more proud of the direction of travel of the Welsh
01:31 Labour government's policies than I am now. And I believe it would be a travesty
01:37 if this non-binding Tory gimmick of a motion was to be used to subvert democracy
01:43 and prevent our leader democratically elected by party members and trade union affiliates.
01:49 And criticism of the Welsh Conservatives for choosing today
01:52 when the FM had been invited to a D-Day memorial service for the debate.
01:57 I will never forgive you for doing what you've done on this day, today.
02:03 You want to hang your head in shame.
02:07 At times, it got too much for the First Minister. But when he spoke, he struck a defiant tone.
02:16 It does hurt deeply when my intentions are questioned. I have never, ever made a decision
02:25 in more than a decade as a minister for personal or financial gain. Never.
02:32 This evening, the FM's destination is clear. He's being driven overnight via the Channel
02:38 Tunnel to the D-Day commemorations in Normandy. After that, the destination might be less certain.
02:44 [END]

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