Could Vaughan Gething’s Donations Scandal Affect Starmer?

After only 78 days as First Minister, Vaughan Gething has lost a vote of confidence in the Senedd. Despite his determination to stay in post, his future is uncertain.


When he succeeded Mark Drakeford in March, Gething could not shake the stench surrounding donations of £200,000 that he received from the recycling magnate David Neal, who has been convicted twice for environmental crimes. There is no suggestion that the rules were broken, but the perception remains (among 70 per cent of voters, according to one poll) that Gething should have handed back the money – a huge amount in Welsh politics – when the donor’s history came to light.


He did not. He pressed on, unapologetically. As the pressure mounted, Welsh Labour tried to shake the story by accusing Gething’s critics of racism (he is Europe’s first black head of government). In his Senedd speech yesterday, he spoke about the “hurt” the episode had caused him, dismissing the no-confidence vote as a gimmick without any contrition. That he broke down in the chamber did not stop his opponents from baulking at his failure to apologise in his speech.