User:ThatRandomGuy1/sandbox5
Organisation[edit]
Welsh Labour is the part of the UK Labour Party active in Wales.[1][2] It is not registered with the Electoral Commission as a separate legal entity or political party.[3][4]: 18 Legally, the term "Welsh Labour" is a registered description of the Labour Party which may be used on ballot papers and as a campaign slogan.[5][1][6] Welsh Labour was registered as an accounting unit of the party from 2000 to 2006, which meant it published its own accounts to the Electoral Commission separately from the UK party.[1]
The governing body of Welsh Labour is the Welsh Executive Committee (WEC).[‡ 1][7] It is made up of 39 members drawn from each section of Welsh Labour, including local councillors, members of Parliament, members of the Senedd, trade unionists, and representatives from constituency Labour Parties.[‡ 1][8] Local representatives are organised into different regions, including the regions of North Wales, South Wales, West Wales and others.[9] 10 members of the WEC, two for each Senedd region, are elected every two years under a system of one member, one vote.[‡ 1] The WEC has a similar function to the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party in terms of devolved matters.[‡ 2]
Historically, the leader of Welsh Labour, also known as the leader of the Labour Party in Wales, was an informal position held by the leader of the Labour group in the National Assembly for Wales (now the Senedd).[10][11][a] The Labour Party in Wales was first allowed to elect its own leader in 1998, as devolution was implemented by the New Labour government, though the role was not officially recognised in the constitution of the Labour Party for some time.[12][13] Although an informal position, the leader would have substantial autonomy from the UK Labour leadership and served as the de facto leader of the party in Wales; formally the only Labour leader in Wales was the leader of the wider UK party.[11] Since the inception of devolution in 1999, every first minister of Wales has been the leader of Welsh Labour; Ron Davies is the only leader not to have served as first minister.[b]
In 2016, the Labour Party Conference voted to amend the party constitution and formally institute the office of leader of Welsh Labour with its own codified powers in the party.[14][15] The changes to the constitution also granted Welsh Labour the power to create a deputy leadership position.[16][17] A deputy leadership position was first proposed in 1998, when Alun Michael offered to appoint Rhodri Morgan and Wayne David as his deputies if they agreed to stand down and make way for his unchallenged election as leader in the 1999 Welsh Labour leadership election.
The current leader of Welsh Labour is Mark Drakeford, elected in 2018, and the first leader was Ron Davies, elected in 1998. The first and current deputy leader of Welsh Labour is Carolyn Harris, who was elected in 2018.[18]
List of leaders[edit]
| No. | Image | Name | Term start | Term end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .jpg) |
Ron Davies | 19 September 1998 | 29 October 1998 |
| 2 |  |
Alun Michael | 20 February 1999[c] | 9 February 2000 |
| 3 |  |
Rhodri Morgan | 9 February 2000 | 1 December 2009 |
| 4 | .jpg) |
Carwyn Jones | 1 December 2009 | 6 December 2018 |
| 5 |  |
Mark Drakeford | 6 December 2018 | Incumbent |
List of deputy leaders[edit]
| No. | Image | Name | Term start | Term end | Leader(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Carolyn Harris | 21 April 2018 | Incumbent | Carwyn Jones 2018 Mark Drakeford 2018–present |
References[edit]
- ^ Ron Davies, the first leader of Welsh Labour, was elected as leader-designate of the Labour group in the National Assembly. He resigned as leader of Welsh Labour before the National Assembly could be established.
- ^ Leaders Alun Michael and Rhodri Morgan served as first minister when the position was entitled First Secretary of Wales; the post was renamed to First Minister of Wales during Morgan's premiership.
- ^ Acting leader from 29 October 1998 to 20 February 1999
- ^ a b c Shipton, Martin (27 March 2006). "Welsh Labour bites the dust". Wales Online. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
A statement issued by Welsh Labour said, 'We are proud to be part of the wider Labour Party and the wider labour movement [...] We are a part of the UK Labour Party and like other parts of that party, such as Scotland, we receive a portion of our funding from the common part.'
- ^ Masters, Adrian (20 September 2019). "Jeremy Corbyn defends Brexit position despite First Minister pledging to 'rigorously campaign' to remain in EU". ITV News. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
When asked if he [Welsh Labour leader Mark Drakeford] sees himself as separate from the UK Labour party he denied such claims. 'No we're part of the UK labour party but we're devolved.'
- ^ Shipton, Martin (13 May 2023). "The two faces of the Labour Party in Wales". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ Evans, Adam B. (2014). "Analogue in a digital age? Welsh Labour's organisation in post-devolved Wales, 1999–2009". Llafur: the Journal of Welsh People's History. Welsh People's History Society: 128–145. ISSN 0306-0837 – via ORCA.
- ^ "Registrations: Labour Party". Electoral Commission. 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ Elliards, Xander (4 August 2023). "Electoral Commission comment on whether Scottish Labour are a 'party'". The National. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ Chappell, Elliot (19 November 2021). "Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru close to finalising Senedd cooperation deal". Labourlist. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ Hicks, Tom (30 June 2023). ""Very exciting times ahead": Islywn MP Chris Evans on being next Caerphilly candidate". Caerphilly Observer. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ Chappell, Elliot (30 September 2020). "Exclusive: Interview with Labour NEC Welsh rep candidate Mick Antoniw". Labourlist. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ Parry, Phil (2 October 2009). "The road to a post-Morgan Wales". BBC News. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
- ^ a b Atkins & Gaffney 2017, pp. 125, 144.
- ^ Rawlings, Richard (2003). Delineating Wales: Constitutional, Legal and Administrative Aspects of National Devolution. University of Wales Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-7083-1739-6. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ Swan & Kenny 2022, p. 10.
- ^ "Labour backs more autonomy for Welsh party". ITV News. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ Bush, Stephen (18 April 2018). "What's next for Carwyn Jones?". New Statesman. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "Welsh Labour to get control of MP selection". ITV News. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ Martin, Paul (27 November 2016). "Welsh Labour leadership vote rule change considered". BBC Wales. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "Carolyn Harris elected Welsh Labour deputy leader". ITV News. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
Primary sources[edit]
In the text these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):
- ^ a b c "WEC Elections 2020". Welsh Labour Grassroots. 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ "Glossary". Aberconwy Constituency Labour Party. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
Bibliography[edit]
- Atkins, Judi; Gaffney, John (10 August 2017). Voices of the UK Left: Rhetoric, Ideology and the Performance of Politics. Springer. ISBN 978-3-3195-1902-9.
- Swan, Coree Brown; Kenny, Michael (28 October 2022). "'We Can't Afford to be a Branch Office': The Territorial Dynamics of the British Labour Party, 2015–2019" (PDF). Parliamentary Affairs. XX (1–20). doi:10.1093/pa/gsac022.