Vaughan Gething's resignation speech to Senedd

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Transcript

00:00with. I have this morning taken the difficult decision to begin the process of stepping

00:05down as the leader of Welsh Labour and as a result First Minister of Wales. Having been

00:12elected as the leader of my party in March this year, I had hoped that over the summer

00:19a period of reflection, rebuilding and renewal could take place under my leadership. I recognise

00:26now that that is not possible. It has been an extraordinary honour to do this job even

00:33for a few short months. To see the dedication to public service from our civil servants

00:41and the dedication to civility from the Welsh public. To see the election of a new Labour

00:48Government in Westminster for the first time in 14 years and the fresh hope that I believe

00:54that brings to Wales. I have always pursued my political career to serve Wales and being

01:03able to show underrepresented communities that there is a place for them, for us, is

01:12an honour and a privilege that will never diminish. It is what drew me into public service.

01:21Before becoming a member of the Senate, I was a trade union shop steward. I was an employment

01:26lawyer for the largest trade union law firm in the country. I fought employment cases

01:32for people who had been mistreated at work. I wanted to give power to those without a

01:38voice to help to make our country a better place for all of us. That has always been

01:47my motivation. I campaigned to help create the Senate, clocking up 30 years of work to

01:54support Wales' devolution journey. This has been an incredibly difficult time for me and

02:02for my family. A growing assertion that some kind of wrongdoing has taken place has been

02:09pernicious, politically motivated and patently untrue. I have worked hard, followed the rules

02:18and done really difficult and demanding jobs for my country. In 11 years as a minister,

02:25I have never, ever made a decision for personal gain. I have never, ever misused or abused

02:35my ministerial position. My integrity matters. I have not compromised it. I regret that the

02:45burden of proof is no longer an important commodity in the language of our politics,

02:50and I do hope for all of our sakes that that can change. I will now discuss with the Welsh

02:57executive of my party a timetable for the election of a new leader of Welsh Labour.

03:04I will then confirm a timetable to formally stand down as the first minister of my country.

03:11I do, though, want to say thank you to those who have reached out to support me, my team

03:16and my family in recent weeks, including today. It really does mean a great deal. To those

03:25people in Wales who look like me, many of whom I know feel personally bruised and worried

03:32by this moment, I know that our country can be better, must be better. I know that cannot

03:42happen without us. There will and there must be in a future a government that looks like

03:50the country it serves, a government for all of us to make Wales a better place with and

03:59for all of us. Diolch Llywydd. Thank you.