Mark Drakeford took to the stage at Venue Cymru in Llandudno to applause and cheers at a party conference marking the first time the Labour masses have got together since before the pandemic.
There was lots of talk that it was hastily put together with the rules only finally properly allowing a mass meet-up a few months ago. When Mark Drakeford last appeared it was before he became a household name and before the Senedd election where his party won 30 seats.
On Saturday he took to the stage in Llandudno following Welsh shadow secretary Jo Stevens to speak to members. He used his speech to talk about Ukraine, to try muster enthusiasm for another election in 54 days' time and, as you'd expect, to criticise the Conservative UK government.
'The UK Government is yet to play its full part'
The First Minister, who has been vocal in his criticism of the UK Government's visa requirements for Ukrainians fleeing the ongoing war in their country, used his speech once again to reiterate Wales' willingness to play its part in taking in refugees.
"We’ve heard this morning, unfortunately, more than two weeks since the first bombs fell and bullets were fired, the UK Government is yet to play its full part.
"This is a government which worries about the human rights of oligarchs but the home secretary sends exhausted refugees on a European hunt for a bureaucrat willing to accept their visa application. I’ve had a number of chances to discuss the help Wales is ready to provide people in Ukraine with UK ministers over last two weeks.
"I’ve spoken about our Nation of Sanctuary approach and the warm welcome waiting here as soon as the UK Government sorts out its visas. UK Ministers tell me they share the same intentions. But if, as the Prime Minister says, he stands shoulder to shoulder with people in Ukraine that must seem a very long way off to all those who are dealing with what charities on the ground are calling a ‘chaotic, heartless, and unkind’ response when trying to access the Prime Minister’s goodwill.
"The gap between what the Conservative government says and the actions it delivers is shamefully wide. Shameful to the UK’s reputation around the world. Shamefully at odds with the instinctive generosity of so many people across our country and most shamefully of all a real dereliction of the moral and practical duty we have to do everything we can to help those innocent people whose lives have been destroyed by Russian action."
He will press ahead with voting reform
On Saturday morning a vote was held to see if delegates backed a larger Senedd and changes to the electoral system. There was unanimous support.
"In this hall this morning we saw a real sense of unity about some of the very important decisions which lie ahead of us as a party. This will help to shape the future of our Parliament as our democracy continues to mature and we move into the third decade of devolution. This is just the start of the latest chapter in our journey. "
Deputy climate change minister Lee Waters said it was "historic".
Climate change is at the heart of the agenda
Mr Drakeford has already made clear he wants climate change to be at the heart of his government's policies. He described it in his conference speech as the "other great emergency of our time – the climate and nature emergency".
He said: "I’m also very proud that in our first year, with a new climate ministry at the heart of our government, we’ve made huge progress in repaying that trust."
The countdown to council elections is on
Mr Drakeford, a former councillor himself, took the chance to praise councils ahead of May's election.
"The pandemic shone a light on the vital work our councils and councillors do every day in Wales, delivering those services which mean so much to all of us. Two years ago, when we needed to look after the most vulnerable people across Wales, it was local councils, and local councillors, who were on the frontline. They stepped in and they stepped up and that’s why this year’s elections are so important because on that journey to a stronger, fairer, and greener future we need Labour councillors and Labour authorities in every corner of our nation."
His anti-Tory joke got a large laugh
There was whopping and cheering when he arrived onto and left the stage but the biggest line in the speech which got applause was based on a Nye Bevan comment.
The First Minister said: "So colleagues, let’s mark it in our diaries, May 5 is the day we play our part in getting rid of this toxic Tory government and begin to repair all the damage they’ve inflicted on this country for so long.
"Aneurin Bevan used to say that he’d never met a Tory until he was 21. Conference, we have a responsibility to offer young people in Wales today that same opportunity."
He blamed the cost of living crisis on the UK Government
"When we are out on the doorstep in the next few weeks we will be there just as one crisis is easing but another Tory-made crisis is coming to a head. We are in the grip of a cost of living crisis which has its roots in Downing Street. It is being fuelled by soaring energy prices, which show no sign of easing as the war in Ukraine goes on, but the Chancellor is about to pour petrol on the fire with his regressive hike in National Insurance contributions, which will hit pay packets across Wales next month."
The Union is 'under threat'
The First Minister said the believes the Union "is under greater threat today than at any point in my political lifetime" but said he continues "to believe passionately that a successful future can be crafted" for the UK. He added: "A United Kingdom to which people in all its nations would choose and want to belong. The United Kingdom of the future – a United Kingdom that has a future – will be one in which power is redistributed radically to its nations and regions, in which the reality of devolution is recognised and respected, but, most of all, it will be a United Kingdom in which membership brings everyone, wherever they live, a set of fundamental guarantees."
The things Welsh Governments have achieved
He said: "We will celebrate, over the course of this Senedd term, all those things a Welsh Labour Government has done – those bread and butter things – which make such a difference to our lives:
- "It will be five years since we took railways back into public ownership;
- "10 years since we created the fantastic Wales Coastal path
- "And 20 years since we abolished the tax on illness and introduced free prescriptions for all."
And laid out the plans for what lies ahead
"We will reform the school day and school year, create a national forest and our first new national park in more than half a century, here in north Wales, and we will play our part to power our economy with renewable energy."
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