Wales gets a new first minister – and the first Black leader of a European nation

Mark Drakeford’s successor has plenty of challenges but electoral odds might be in his favour, says Sean O’Grady

Vaughan Gething becomes the first Black leader of a European nation, in the only UK administration controlled by Labour (PA)

Wales has got a new first minister, and a bit of a fresh start for its Labour administration. Vaughan Gething succeeds Mark Drakeford after a fairly close vote and a mostly uneventful leadership election. Gething beat his only rival, Jeremy Miles, by 51.7 per cent to 48.3 per cent and thus starts off with a less than overwhelming mandate.

Wales is currently the only UK administration controlled by Labour, albeit in a minority administration with the acquiescence of Plaid Cymru under a “cooperation agreement”. Welsh governance has evolved markedly since devolution scraped into existence in an even narrower 1998 referendum, and the limited Welsh Assembly and Executive Committee have grown into a Senedd and government with quite extensive powers. Gething has a familiar set of problems to deal with...

Who is Vaughan Gething?