Eluned Morgan to set out her priorities to The Senedd

Eluned Morgan will set out what her priorities will be later, having said that she wants to refocus the Welsh Government onto what she says are “the people’s priorities.”

It will be her first set-piece in the Senedd since taking over as First Minister from Vaughan Gething at the start of August. She’ll also answer questions from Senedd members for the first time.

She’s unlikely to get an easy ride from opponents. The Welsh Conservatives have already accused her off continuing to prioritise what they call “vanity projects like creating more Senedd politicians.”

Meanwhile Plaid Cymru says that Eluned Morgan is only offering more of the same and that “Labour have had their chance at governing Wales – and it’s not working.”

The new First Minister has said that she will base her priorities on what she’s heard from people that she’s spoken too on her “listening” tour that she’s undergone during the last few weeks.

She told ITV Cymru Wales that that listening exercise has thrown up “themes … that won't surprise many people.

“The NHS is definitely top of everybody's list. 20mph - there are still lots of rumblings around that.”

And she says that will mean that some Welsh Government activity and spending will be “deprioritised.”

In the same interview she said that “Aneurin Bevan said that the language of priorities is the religion of socialism and what I'm keen to do is to make sure that we are clear about what those priorities are, that we focus-in on the things that really matter to the public.

And yes, this will be about managing expectations, then about what will be more difficult to deliver.”

There’s been one example of that already. The Welsh Government announced that it is dropping controversial legislation to introduce gender quotas into future Senedd elections.

It had already been delayed and there have been concerns that it could face a legal challenge. The Senedd’s Llywydd, Elin Jones, had warned that the Welsh Government did not have the powers to introduce the change.

Now it’s been abandoned, one of the earliest “deprioritisations” of Eluned Morgan’s government. It won’t be the last.

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