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Mark Drakeford, the first minister of Wales, announced his resignation as leader of the country’s ruling Labour party on Wednesday, triggering a contest to find his successor ahead of next year’s UK general election.
The 69-year-old said he would stand down next March and would remain in post as first minister until his successor was in place.
Drakeford, who took over as leader of Welsh Labour and first minister of Wales in December 2018, did not give a detailed reason for his decision. But he had said previously that he would quit the post before the next elections to the devolved Welsh parliament, or Senedd, in May 2026. He also said he would not stand as an assembly member in the next election.
On Wednesday, he said he would continue to be “fully focused on delivering the promises we made to people across Wales in the last Senedd election” while he was still in charge. He would also “work tirelessly” to ensure Labour won the next UK general election, which is expected to be held next year.
Front runners to replace him include economy minister Vaughan Gething, and health minister Eluned Morgan — both of whom stood for the leadership five years ago.
“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 upon,” Drakeford told a press conference in Cardiff.
Drakeford, who was first elected to the Senedd in 2011 as the member for Cardiff West, leads a minority administration in parliament through a pact with the Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru.
Drakeford was an academic at Swansea and Cardiff universities and a special adviser to former first minister Rhodri Morgan before he was first elected to the Senedd.
He was one of the main architects of Welsh Labour’s “clear red water” philosophy, which was developed in the early 2000s as it sought to carve out a distinct identity from that which the main UK party had taken with its New Labour project under then leader Sir Tony Blair.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak paid tribute to Drakeford’s “many years of public services” while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Drakeford had set a “clear standard for public service” during his five years as first minister and described him as a “kind and decent” man.
Rhun ap Iorwerth, leader of Plaid Cymru, praised Drakeford’s “dedication to public life and in particular the tone of his leadership through the pandemic”.
He added: “We have been able to build a constructive relationship in delivering transformative policies through the co-operation agreement between the Welsh government and Plaid Cymru.”
But Richard Holden, chair of the UK’s ruling Conservative party, said Welsh Labour had been “failing” the people of Wales for 25 years since devolution in 1999.
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