Mark Drakeford to Resign as First Minister of Wales

Undated handout photo of Wales's First Minister Mark Drakeford. Welsh Government/PA

Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has announced he is standing down as Labour leader and will remain in post until his successor is found early next year.

In a resignation statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday, Mr. Drakeford said, “I will stand down in March, and will continue to deliver on my promises to you until then.”

At a news conference in Cardiff, he said: “The next Welsh leader and first minister will, I hope, have an opportunity which has not come my way and that is to work with a newly-elected Labour government in London. And I will work as hard as I can to see that Labour government elected.”

The 69-year-old Labour politician, who has been Wales’s leader since December 2018, having served in various ministerial roles from 2013, said he hoped his replacement could be in place before Easter 2024.

Labour has over 100 years of electoral success in Wales.

Progressive Goals

The Drakeford government has committed Wales to a series of progressive goals on net zero, transgenderism, and anti-racism.

Net zero policies include the widespread use of 20 mph limits on all restricted roads, the first nation to do so.

Just 2.5 percent of Welsh roads had a speed limit of 20 mph, but in September this was increased to approximately 35 percent, or 7,700 miles of road.

Furthermore, the Welsh Government effectively cancelled most planned major road-building schemes, after it announced last February that future road investment for projects must pass strict net zero criteria, which means they must not increase carbon emissions, increase the number of cars on the road, or lead to higher speeds.

Under Mr. Drakeford’s leadership, in 2022 the government announced its aim to turn Wales into “an equitable anti-racist nation” through mandatory anti-racism training and lessons for school children and public bodies.

In the introduction to the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan, the nationalist-Marxist militant organisation the Black Panthers was quoted: “If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.” It added that it was inspired by George Floyd to take action.

The Welsh Government also made Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) lessons compulsory in its curriculum in 2022, which it said will “gradually empower learners at developmentally appropriate stages.”

It added that RSE must be “inclusive and reflect diversity,” and that learning must develop “learners’ awareness and understanding of different identities, views and values and a diversity of relationships, gender, and sexuality, including LGBTQ+ lives.”

In August, Mr. Drakeford’s government announced plans to become the “most LGBTQ+ friendly nation in Europe,” with the lobby group Stonewall contributing to the plan. It proposed banning conversion practices for all LGBT people, making Wales a “nation of sanctuary for LGBTQ+ migrants,” and ensuring education in Wales is “inclusive.”

Wales had hoped to follow Scotland, which wanted to become UK’s first country to back a self-ID process for legally changing gender. However the UK government blocked Scotland’s bill in January, citing its “adverse impact” on UK-wide equalities protection.

COVID-19

Under COVID-19, Mr Drakeford heavily supported restrictions such as lockdowns and masking.

During a conference in January 2022, he called England a “global outlier” for having fewer restrictions than the devolved nations. “The one country that stands out as not taking action to protect its population is England,” he said.

Welsh authorities banned the sale of “non-essential” items during a two-week “firebreak” lockdown in October 2020.

At the time, Mr. Drakeford said that the “firebreak” measures were to “reset the clock and allow us to get through to Christmas.”

Mr. Drakeford said that the break was “a short, sharp, shock to turn back the clock, slow down the virus, and buy us more time.”

Reacting to the news of his resignation on Wednesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wished Mr. Drakeford “all the best as he moves on from his many years of public service.”

“We will continue to work closely with the Welsh Government to build on our joint work to spread opportunity for people across Wales,” Mr. Sunak said.

“A proud Welshman, Wales too can be proud of Mark, for his fight for working people. He’s a true titan of Welsh and Labour politics. It has been a pleasure to work alongside him and we all wish him the very best for his retirement,” said Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

PA Media contributed to this report.