The highs and lows of the Senedd 2024

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Since the inception of the Senedd at the turn of the century, it’s been a relatively consistent place to be. There have been some changes, additions and plenty of too and fro-ing between politicians, but in 2024, it really feels like it’s gone up a gear. The Senedd is set to change massively soon, so we’ll take a look back at the last 12 months.

Transcript

00:00The year started off with a bang for the Senedd, with Mark Drakeford stepping down at the end

00:05of 2023. The race was on to find his successor. The two names in the hat were Jeremy Miles

00:11and Vaughan Geffing. Both veterans of the Welsh political system, both with plenty to

00:15prove and history to be made. Miles would have been the first openly gay leader in Wales,

00:20but it was Vaughan Geffing who made history to become the first black leader, not just

00:25in Wales, but anywhere else in Europe. I will now recommend to His Majesty the appointment

00:31of Vaughan Geffing as First Minister and I invite Vaughan Geffing to address the Senedd.

00:42Of course it ended up being one of the most controversial sagas here in the Senedd, and

00:46it was his short stint as First Minister, lasting a whopping four months, that caused

00:50untold issues behind the scenes and really created some history here.

00:54I have this morning taken the difficult decision to begin the process of stepping down as the

00:59leader of Welsh Labour and, as a result, First Minister of Wales. Having been elected as

01:06the leader of my party in March this year, I had hoped that over the summer a period

01:12of reflection, rebuilding and renewal could take place under my leadership. I recognise

01:20now that that is not possible. It has been an extraordinary honour to do this job, even

01:27for a few short months. In August, in stepped Eluned Morgan, and she so far seemed to have

01:33steadied the ship destined for trouble. She took pride in becoming the first female leader

01:37in Wales, and the Welsh Government had a new face, new members and an all-round new feel

01:43after months of problems. It is the first honour of my life to stand before you today

01:48as the first woman to become the First Minister of Wales.

01:54Twenty-five years ago, we witnessed...

02:00At the next Senate elections in 2026, we'll be voting for more members than ever before,

02:04as the Senate expands to 96 seats. Those behind the changes say it's a once-in-a-generation

02:10opportunity for democracy here in Wales, and will have a lasting, positive impact on our

02:14politics, but critics say it's expensive and a waste of time. Towards the end of the year,

02:20we saw another party leader step down as veteran Welsh Tory head Andrew R.T. Davies stood down.

02:25But unlike the unsavoury manner that Vaughan Gething's resignation took place in, it was

02:30all smiles and well wishes for the notorious Tory chief.

02:34But it has been a huge privilege to stand here and question the whole frontbench, but

02:39in particular the First Ministers, because that is a privilege that, hopefully, the country

02:44benefits from by all politicians shining that light on government and, ultimately, being

02:51in government if you're successful at elections. Regrettably, I was not successful at elections

02:56and I never made the government bench.

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