Rhun ap Iorwerth called for a new Welsh-Westminster relationship after Sir Keir Starmer announced plans to resign as prime minister.
Wales’ first minister Rhun ap Iorwerth has called for a reset in relations with Westminster after Sir Keir Starmer announced plans to resign as prime minister.
Ap Iorwerth said the next occupant of Number 10 should recognise Wales’ case for greater powers, fair funding and respect for the democratic mandate delivered in the Senedd election. He said his government’s ability to engage with Starmer had been hindered by political turmoil at Westminster.
Starmer announced on Monday that he would remain in office until Labour selects a new leader in September, BBC Wales reported. The leadership transition comes after a promised June meeting between Starmer and the first ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland failed to materialise.
Ap Iorwerth said he wished Starmer well as he prepared to leave office, but added that Wales needed “a new relationship with Westminster” built around “greater powers, fair funding, and respect for the democratic mandate delivered by the people of Wales.”
The demand is a central test for the next Labour leader. Plaid Cymru, which displaced Welsh Labour in May’s Senedd election, campaigned on seeking further powers and funding for Wales. Some of those calls, including the devolution of justice, have also been supported by Welsh Labour members in the Senedd, but did not happen during Starmer’s premiership.
Welsh Labour MPs Tonia Antoniazzi and Ruth Jones told BBC Wales they believed Starmer had done the right thing by announcing his departure. An unnamed Labour minister said many in the UK government had wanted him to make the move, describing it as difficult personally but in the country’s interests.
Interim Welsh Labour leader Ken Skates praised Starmer’s record, saying he had brought Labour “back from oblivion” and pointing to the minimum wage increase and the announcement of £14bn for rail in Wales. Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens described him as a figure of dignity and duty who had rebuilt Labour and led it to a major election victory.
Other Welsh politicians used the resignation to press wider arguments about the direction of the UK government. Reform’s Welsh leader Dan Thomas called for a general election, saying the public should decide who governs. Welsh Liberal Democrat MP David Chadwick said a change of prime minister would not be enough unless Labour addressed what he called structural problems holding Wales back. Welsh Conservative Senedd leader Darren Millar said Labour’s failures would remain despite Starmer’s exit.
Former first minister Mark Drakeford said he hoped Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who has said he will stand to replace Starmer, becomes prime minister. Drakeford argued Burnham understood devolution from national and local perspectives and could help restore public hope.
The immediate question for Wales is whether Starmer’s successor will take up the unfinished intergovernmental talks — and whether the next Labour leadership will offer the powers and funding settlement Ap Iorwerth is now demanding.
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