'These questions won't go away': First Minister faces third week of criticism over donations row

The First Minister has faced a third week of opposition criticism over donations to his leadership campaign.

Welsh Conservative Leader Andrew RT Davies compared Vaughan Gething to Humza Yousaf who announced his resignation as Scottish First Minister and accused him of failing “to read the room” while the Plaid Cymru leader said “these questions won’t go away.”

Mr Gething reiterated his defence, saying that the donations had been properly declared and that there were no conflicts of interest.

And he said he and the Welsh Government are focussing on dealing with the cost of living crisis and other problems facing the people of Wales.

During the Welsh Labour leadership campaign earlier this year, it emerged that Mr Gething had accepted £200,000 from Dauson Environmental Group Ltd, whose director, David Neal, was convicted twice for environmental offences.

There has been criticism too because the group is repaying a loan to the Development Bank for Wales (DBW), which is wholly owned by the Welsh Government.

The First Minister has insisted that there are no conflicts of interest: he has had nothing to do with any planning decisions involving Dauson and no ministers have any involvement in DBW decisions.

Dauson Group has also said that, “Dauson Environmental Group has not engaged with Vaughan Gething or his ministerial department regarding any planning applications and we would not expect him to have any involvement in these decisions."

Last week it was announced the former First Minister Carwyn Jones is to lead an internal Welsh Labour Party review into campaign rules, including on donations.

Mr Jones has told BBC Wales that the review will consider imposing a cap on donations in future leadership campaigns, but has confirmed that it won’t look back at the recent contest.

In First Minister’s Questions, the Opposition Leader, Andrew RT Davies was unimpressed with that news.

He said that “It's wonderful to hear you're having an internal review in the Labour Party to look into all this. It does remind me of the Communist Party when they used to have the Politburo slapping themselves on the back and saying ‘we've done a great job, we'll have a quick look at the next five year plan and we're still in the same position.’

“The fact of the matter is the average punter in the street does have serious questions over this particular issue; it’s coming up time and time again over why £200,000, and what was expected in receipt of that £200,000. It wasn't given to the Labour Party, it was given to you specifically to solicit the role of First Minister.

“Humza Yousaf yesterday lost his job as First Minister [of Scotland] because he failed to read the room, First Minister.

“Are you failing to read the Welsh public's mind on this particular issue and not coming forward and commissioning that independent inquiry into the important issues that people have identified of deep concern to them so that we can have clarity on this, rather than you being judged, jury and executioner...

“We need the clarity and that's why we need the independent inquiry. What have you got to fear?”

Vaughan Gething paid tribute to Humza Yousaf who he said was “a decent individual” and disputed the term “solicit,” saying that “there was of course an election, not soliciting the post, having an election for the post, and members made a choice in a one-member-one-vote ballot.”

“When it comes to how the public feel, I don't think the public will rally to the Tories’ banner when it comes to how politics should be funded. Indeed, when you look at how the public feel about a whole range of issues, the most recent polling evidence simply doesn't support the members contention.

“The public are most concerned and most obsessed with the cost of living crisis. They're concerned with the future of the UK and Wales. They're concerned with how well-funded their public services and they’re concerned with the sort of economy we could have.

“If you went to Port Talbot or to Llanwern or to Shotton or to Trostre, you wouldn't find people obsessing about the issue the member wants to raise.

“They're concerned about this issue. They're concerned about the issue of the future of their jobs. They're concerned about the future of their communities. They're concerned about whether the UK Government is prepared to support a decent future for steel.

“That's what people are concerned about that this government will be focused on. I look forward to doing just that.”

In his questions, Plaid Cymru’s leader Rhun ap Iorwerth didn’t seek answers on the donations row but said that the people of Wales want “a First Minister that they can trust and that's why there's so much public attention on the poor judgement that you showed in receiving that money as part of your leadership campaign."

Both Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives have tabled motions to be debated on Wednesday.The Conservatives’ motion aims to force Vaughan Gething to hold an independent inquiry into the matter, something he has already rejected, saying that no rules have been broken and that there has been no conflict of interest.

Plaid Cymru’s motion seeks to introduce annual caps on the size of donations that any Senedd member can accept.

Neither proposal is likely to be passed, even if the opposition parties unite to support the proposals. That’s because Labour has half of the seats in the Senedd chamber and in the event of a stalemate, the Llywydd is obliged to vote against changing the status quo.

However it means that Vaughan Gething will face another day of challenges and criticism in the Senedd.

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