Vaughan Gething’s First Minister acceptance speech in full

Vaughan Gething, the new First Minister of Wales, said he wanted to lead a country full of hope, ambition and unity in a speech in the Senedd.

Here is his speech to the Welsh Parliament in Cardiff Bay in full:

Mr Gething said: “My sincere thanks to fellow members who have supported my nomination today.

“I am particularly grateful to my predecessor, Mark Drakeford, for his nomination and for the support he has offered me, not just in recent days, but through the many years we have worked so closely together.

“I don’t think any of us would ever want to live through those dark days of the pandemic again, but, like other colleagues here, I was incredibly grateful to have Mark as our first minister through that time.

“History will rightly judge Mark for the compassionate, collegiate and ethical leadership that shone through those dark days for our nation.

“It is said that ‘no legacy is so rich as honesty’, Mark’s leadership is characterised by those words.

“Can I today once again say diolch yn fawr (thank you very much) Mark, for everything you have done for Wales.

“During Mark’s contribution following his election as first minister, he recalled how, on difficult days, Rhodri Morgan would utter the words ‘tin hat on’, moments before heading into First Minister’s Questions.

“This was December 2018 and I remember Mark asking his watching family to make sure Father Christmas would deliver him a tin hat that year.

“So to my relatives watching on today, I’d really rather not wait until Christmas.

“Sometime in the next three weeks would be ideal.

“But Dirprwy Llywydd (deputy presiding officer), as we look back at those stories of the people who have shaped devolution in its first quarter century, it is striking that there are now growing numbers of people here in Wales who have never known a time without it.

“In my slightly misspent youth included time campaigning in the Yes for Wales movement that won the referendum that made days like today possible.

“For a growing number of members in this chamber, devolution, Welsh solutions for Welsh problems and opportunities, has been a constant feature of our adult lives.

“In recent years we have pushed the boundaries of what is possible with devolution.

“We did it, for example, to keep Wales safe.

“But in that same period, we have seen unprecedented hostility towards democratic Welsh devolution from a UK government determined to undermine, frustrate and bypass the Welsh government and this Senedd.

“As well as leaving Wales with less say over less money, it is deeply corrosive, wasteful and undemocratic.

“As First Minister, I look forward to standing up for Wales and for devolution in the weeks and months to come.

“But I relish the opportunity to co-operate for Wales with a new UK government that invests in partnership and in Wales’ future.

“I relish it because, like so many members and friends here today, I want Wales to thrive in the sunshine that hope and social justice can offer all of us.

“No matter what our background, what we look like or who we love.

“From sunny intervals where hope too often feels hard to find, we can embrace fresh optimism and new ambition for a fairer Wales, built by all of us.

“Dirprwy Llywydd, I have spoken in recent days about my determination to offer a listening ear and the hand of friendship to anyone in this Senedd and beyond where we share that ambition for our country’s future.

“Delivering on the needs of the people of Wales requires a collective commitment to listening.

“In the face of new forces of division, restoring trust and recovering dignity in the way that we speak to one another is more important than ever.

“Those who seek to amplify nasty populism are hungry for a disunited Wales.

“Our task, I believe, is to prevent the victory of division and hate, by building bridges, by listening, by recreating a bond of trust between people and power.

“These are the ingredients of a kinder, more effective politics.

“One where we overcome the ruthless efforts to make a warm nation turn cold.

“As First Minister, I will bring together a government that constantly makes the positive case for progressive politics.

“To remind people, that only through coming together, can we achieve for the many.

“I choose to make a stand for positivity, to never fan the flames that are hurtful to people and damaging to our standing in the world.

“To stand for a set of ideas and policy innovations that are rooted in Welsh values.

“To stand for a leadership grounded not in bitterness, resentment or the fruitless search for a past that never was, but a leadership based on hope.

“To advance the case for human rights, for solidarity and for a commitment to playing a collective, international role in addressing the challenges we face.

“I am after all the first leader of my party, and indeed my country, with an ‘ap’ in their name.

“We have of course, today voted also to ensure that Wales becomes the first nation anywhere in Europe to be led by a black person.

“It is a matter of pride for a modern Wales but also a daunting responsibility for me – and one that I do not take lightly.

“Today, we can also expect the depressingly familiar pattern to emerge: abuse on social media, racist tropes disguised with polite language.

“People questioning my motives and, yes, they will still question or deny my nationality.

“Whilst others question why I’m ‘playing the race card’.

“To those people, I say once more, it is very easy not to care about identity when your own has never once been questioned or held you back.

“I believe the Wales of today and the future will be owned by all of those decent people who recognise that our parliament and government should look like our country.

“People who recognise that our hope and ambition for the future relies on unleashing the talent of all of us.

“A Wales that recognises that we can celebrate our differences and take pride in all of those things that draw us together and make us who we are.

“That is the Wales that I want to lead.

“A Wales full of hope, ambition and unity.”