Eluned Morgan: The 'star talent' who's just become First Minister of Wales

• ITV reporter Hamish Auskerry takes a look back at Eluned Morgan's political career

"The grey suits are out!", Eluned Morgan told the Senedd chamber as she embarked on her debut speech as the first woman to become First Minister.

As her predecessor Vaughan Gething found, being a trailblazer brings an extra dimension to a difficult job and Eluned Morgan attempted to face that head on as she addressed Senedd colleagues.

She referred to the Welsh Labour leaders who have stood in that position before her and paid tribute to their time in office.

"As I take up the mantle of leadership, I promise to honour their achievements and add my own distinctive contribution to this legacy.... perhaps with a vibrant splash of colour. The grey suits are out".

The leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Morgan, was quick to point out that the new deputy first minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, elected on an unusual joint ticket with Eluned Morgan, was himself wearing a dark coloured suit.

Beyond style choices, the new first minister faces enormous challenges in office and with only a short window to make progress before she faces the judgement of the Welsh people at the ballot box.

Lord Peter Hain has known Eluned Morgan since the mid 1990s, after which he became a cabinet minister in the Blair landslide government while she represented Wales in Europe as an MEP.

"She's always been a star talent", Lord Hain told me.

"What she's added with all her time working in Europe, the Senedd, the Assembly before that and also in the House of Lords, is immense political experience not just in policy and strategy and tactics, but dealing with people.

"That's why, with the Labour group being pretty fractured and challenges for the Welsh Government on an enormous scale, I think she's the right person for the job".

The UK General Election last month was, on the face of it, an excellent result for Welsh Labour. But the swathes of seats the party won over their rivals belies the underlying peril of her party's situation.

Welsh Labour gained 4% less of the vote share that the previous election in 2019, and polling for the 2026 Senedd election suggests the party may be neck-and-neck with Plaid Cymru.

"Eluned will face a particular challenge as first minister", Lord Hain told me. "There's big challenges in our de-industrialised communities like I used to represent in the Valley areas where Reform UK is strong, Plaid Cymru did well in the election.

"We've got big challenges but she's the person within Welsh Labour that I think can best meet those challenges".

The Baroness Morgan of Ely, as Eluned Morgan was known before she took a leave of absence from the House of Lords to serve in Wales, has had her fair share of critics in recent years.

She took on the job of health minister, now health secretary, from Vaughan Gething during the Covid-19 years and has faced numerous moments of political jeopardy, from crises in Betsi Cadwalladr health board to months of strike action by health workers.

Even those who have battled with her in that job, including the Director for the Royal College of Nursing in Wales Helen Whyley, still respect how Eluned Morgan goes about her politics.

"I think it's wonderful to see a woman as the top leader in Wales. I'm looking forward to working with her, the first female First Minister", Helen told me.

"I've worked alongside Eluned for a good while in her health brief. And I think we've had some real challenges in the past, and there's been some really difficult areas we've had to cover."

The Royal College of Nursing took strike action in Wales during her term, the first time in over 100 years of their history.

"We've certainly had our challenges along the way, but I find her a very honorable and professional minister to work with, who genuinely wants to look for answers and for solutions in social partnership for the issues that we face in Wales."

The Senedd is currently on recess until September, with members only dragged away from their holidays for 40 minutes on Tuesday to formally elect the first minister.

Eluned Morgan now has a few weeks to structure her government and plan for the pivotal 18 months ahead.

"Sometimes my reflection would be that there's been an over reliance on the issues in Westminster, and being able to say it's a Westminster issue and we don't have the funding', Helen said.

Like other organisations in the sector, the RCN in Wales await to see who replaces Eluned Morgan as Cabinet Secretary for Health, and whether the new government will change direction on some key issues, like nurses' pay.

"We did have a commitment last year to pay restoration, and we want to see that journey set out now", Helen said.

"I think that gauntlet is down. For that, our members need to see that they can trust her again, because that narrative was very firm, there's no money, there's no money, there's no money, and then when money was found, the conversation was not across all of the unions.

Twice Welsh Secretary, Peter Hain fought against apartheid in South Africa as a young man and ended up in various cabinet roles including as Northern Ireland Secretary, so he knows a thing or two about complex and challenging political landscapes.

I asked him what advice he has for Eluned Morgan to negotiate a path through her own.

"Leadership is about strength, standing your ground, but also about bringing people back together... the fact she was unopposed as Welsh Labour leader says it all about her. She has the ability to unite people."

First that needs to happen with those inside her own party, and then, in the Senedd election in 2026, she will attempt to do the same with the people of Wales.

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