Who is Wales' new First Minister Eluned Morgan and what's in her daunting in-tray?

Eluned Morgan, the new First Minister of Wales, has promised to champion the voices that have been 'sidelined and silenced', Rhys Williams reports

Just months after its first black leader, Wales now has another trailblazer.

Eluned Morgan is the country’s first female First Minister. But the 57-year-old has little time to celebrate her historic achievement.

After months of bitter infighting over Vaughan Gething’s leadership, there seems to be a determination among Labour MSs to move on.

Ms Morgan is not without her baggage.

She’s been criticised by opposition parties for struggling to bring down record-breaking NHS waiting lists as Health Secretary, and she had to apologise to the Senedd after being handed a driving ban for speeding, just as the Welsh government was preparing to lower the default speed limit in Wales.

Her in-tray is also daunting.

From stubbornly long NHS waiting lists to falling educational standards, this Labour administration is under pressure.

Last week, a bombshell poll showed Labour in Wales neck and neck with Plaid Cymru for the 2026 Senedd election.

Labour hasn’t failed to win a General or Senedd election in Wales in more than a century.

Eluned Morgan has less than two years to persuade a seemingly weary Welsh electorate to give them more time.

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