Welsh FM criticised for ‘silence’ on Starmer’s future
Baroness Eluned Morgan has previously refused to say whether she thinks Sir Keir is a ‘good’ Prime Minister.
The Labour First Minister of Wales has been criticised for her “silence” amid calls for the Prime Minister to resign.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar used a press conference to urge Sir Keir Starmer to resign following the scandal surrounding Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment to Washington as British ambassador, despite his links to Jeffrey Epstein being known.
Baroness Eluned Morgan, the Welsh First Minister, has previously refused to say whether she thinks Sir Keir is a “good” Prime Minister, but has not joined calls for his resignation.
Rhun ap Iorwerth, leader of Plaid Cymru, criticised Lady Morgan for being “silent”, and accused her of being “happy for the chaos to continue”.
He said: “Of course Keir Starmer has to go. He’s lost all moral authority and the self-awareness to do the right thing.
“It’s now a question of when Labour members will push the button.
“Wales’ Labour First Minister remains silent on Starmer’s lack of judgment despite evidence that the Prime Minister knew of Mandelson’s close relationship with a paedophile before appointing him US ambassador.
“The First Minister is seemingly happy for the chaos to continue and for the Prime Minister to squat in Downing Street.
“Even when the game is up, the First Minister puts her empty slogan of ‘partnership in power’ above all else.”
Jo Stevens, the Secretary of State for Wales, is among Labour figures to have come out in support of Sir Keir on Monday afternoon.
In a post on social media, she said: “Keir Starmer is a good, decent man with public service running through his veins.
“He came into politics for all the right reasons
“He’s defied the naysayers many time (sic) and he’ll do so again.
“He’s changing and renewing our country and has restored it’s (sic) reputation across the world.”
Mr Sarwar is the most senior Labour politician to call for Sir Keir to go, conscious of the task facing Scottish Labour in May’s Holyrood elections.
Lady Morgan also faces a challenge in May’s Senedd elections, with opinion polls suggesting they could bring an end to Labour’s electoral dominance in Wales.
The party has been in power in Wales in some form for more than 25 years, since the Senedd was established in 1999.
A spokesman for the Welsh Liberal Democrats said: “If Eluned Morgan isn’t prepared to speak up for Wales now, it raises serious questions about whether Welsh Labour has the backbone to stand up for Wales at all.
“Wales needs leaders who will stand up for our country and our communities, not ones who go quiet when it matters most.
“Keir Starmer has been a failure for Wales and his leadership has made things worse, not better. He should go.
“But Welsh Labour cannot pretend this is only a Westminster problem, after 25 years of mismanagement by Labour ministers in Cardiff Bay, people in Wales know the rot runs much deeper.”
