Hiraeth - Welsh Politics

There are few people that have been at the centre of Welsh national politics for as long as Mark Drakeford. As a councillor, special advisor, Assembly Member, Cabinet Secretary, Minister, and First Minister - as well as leader of Welsh Labour - his experience is unrivalled. In this session recorded at Labour Party conference Mark is interviewed by friend of the pod Jess Blair (of the Electoral Reform Society) about his thoughts on Welsh democracy past, present, and future, the key debates around redesigning the electoral system for the Senedd in 2026 and beyond and some of the big challenges he faced bringing the legislation through both our national parliament and the Labour Party itself. Mark also takes questions from the floor about widening representation in the Senedd, republicanism, House of Lords reform, and expanding the franchise. You can follow our speakers here: - Mark Drakeford MS: https://x.com/MarkDrakeford - Jess Blair: https://x.com/JessBlair7 - ERS Cymru: https://x.com/ERScymru As always, you can find the latest from us on the socials @hiraethpod, including BlueSky here: https://bsky.app/profile/hiraethpod.bsky.social We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

We're closing out the year with a few pods that we couldn't quite find a way to squeeze in the feed earlier in the year, including this one which is an interview with Dr Rowan Williams and Prof Laura McAllister who co-chaired the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales. Recorded in October 2024 at Cardiff Business School and chaired by Sarah Lethbridge of the Executive Education team, the pod invites both Laura and Rowan to reflect on the work that they did on the commission, the progress on the recommendations they made in their final report, and to answer questions from an in-person and virtual audience about their work. They also address the new context of recently-formed Labour Governments in Wales and the UK (a long way from the Mark Drakeford- and Liz Truss-led governments when the commission was announced!) and answer questions in relation to local government and the new Senedd electoral system. You can read the Commission's Final Report here: https://www.gov.wales/independent-commission-on-the-constitutional-future-of-wales-final-report Find out more about Rowan here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowan_Williams Find Laura here on X: https://x.com/LauraMcAllister And Sarah here: https://x.com/sarahlethbridge with the Cardiff Business Executive Education team here: https://x.com/CbsExec As always, you can find the latest from us on the socials @hiraethpod, including BlueSky here: https://bsky.app/profile/hiraethpod.bsky.social We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

We've touched on the subject of religion in politics before but we thought we would round out 2024 specifically looking at the role of Christianity in Welsh politics. In some ways it could be argued that Welsh politics only really exists thanks to Welsh nonconformist campaigning that led to the first Wales-only legislation since the 1500s with the Sunday Closing (Wales) Act 1881, followed by the disestablishment of the Church of England in 1920. In much more recent times we have the famous referendums on keeping Sundays wet/dry, we have the national and union parliament votes on assisted dying, and we have perpetual questions about how free political representatives and leaders should and can be to carry their faith into their political lives. To discuss, we are joined by:- Hannah Rich, Director of Christians on the Left and Senior Researcher at the Theos Think Tank: https://bsky.app/profile/hannahmerich.bsky.social- Ben Phillips, a researcher in music, religion and culture at the University at Durham: https://bsky.app/profile/liturgicalben.bsky.social The pod also features a special sign off from our own Matthew Hexter! Nadolig Llawen i chi gyd - Merry Christmas to all! As always, you can find the latest from us on the socials @hiraethpod, including BlueSky here: https://bsky.app/profile/hiraethpod.bsky.social We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

In recent years transport - and especially rail infrastructure - has been among the most hotly debated policy fields in Welsh politics. Following the disastrous franchise awarded to Arriva Trains Wales, the creation and subsequent nationalisation of the rail operator under Transport for Wales, longstanding under-investment in the network, and the infamous decision to decline full devolution of rail in the 2000s - one that has seen Wales miss out on hundreds of millions, if not billions of pounds from the UK Treasury in the years since - we are finally seeing some of the Welsh Government's investment paying off. So we're delighted to be joined by Professor Mark Barry to discuss his own contribution as the instigator and campaigner for the South Wales Metro and core valley lines electrification, as well as his recent book on the matter. We also discuss the 'missing billions' from the HS2 project, the ongoing injustice of the UK Government's refusal to devolve rail in Wales as it is in Scotland, the debate around building Cardiff Parkway station, and the Welsh Government's plans for reforming bus services in Wales. You can find Mark on BlueSky here: https://bsky.app/profile/swalesmetroprof.bsky.social And Mark's book is available here: https://cardiffmetro.wales/book-navigation/ As always, you can find the latest from us on the socials @hiraethpod, including BlueSky here: https://bsky.app/profile/hiraethpod.bsky.social We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

Although most Welsh eyes will only have been focussing on one result from Ireland over the last week - that of the Welsh Women's football side defeating Ireland in the play off for a place in the 2024 European Championships - there was a big result in the general election too! To discuss the results, campaigns, and political significance of the 2024 Irish election, we are joined by independent researcher and author Lila Haines and researcher at the Wales Governance Centre, Dr Alexander Fitzpatrick. You can find Lila here: https://x.com/LilaEilis And buy her excellent book on the political parties of Ireland here: https://welsh-academic-press.shopfactory.com/contents/en-uk/p128_Political-Parties-of-Ireland.html You can also find Alexander here: https://x.com/AlexanderFitz_ As always, you can find the latest from us @hiraethpod on most social media, including Twitter/X here: https://twitter.com/HiraethPod and BlueSky here: https://bsky.app/profile/hiraethpod.bsky.social As always, you can find the latest from us on the socials @hiraethpod, including BlueSky here: https://bsky.app/profile/hiraethpod.bsky.social We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

In the devolution era, Wales has invested (or has had to invest) at a national and local level in new and better approaches to community development. Designed to ensure that communities are able to express their own interests in projects, campaigns, and democratic institutions, these initiatives are sometimes backed by institutions, or grow out of ground-up community activism. Community Development takes many varied forms and with the years of applied experience in Wales in this field, we have literally written the textbook on the subject - Community Development, Social Action and Social Planning: A Practical Guide, by Alan TwelveTrees and Russell Todd. And we're delighted to have tempted Russ away from the microphone at Podcast Pêl-Droed to speak with us about his experience in this field, along with Jan Huyton, programme director of MA Education at Cardiff Metropolitan University. You can find the book here: https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/community-development-social-action-and-social-planning-6e More about Russ here: https://russelltodd.cymru And Jan here: https://x.com/MinnieKeats As always, you can find the latest from us on the socials @hiraethpod, including BlueSky here: https://bsky.app/profile/hiraethpod.bsky.social We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

It's one of - if not the - most widely recognised histories of Wales. Irrespective of language, religion, or region, almost every child in Wales will have learnt about the infamous Welsh Not. How could a simple board on string, of which few actual examples persist, continue to be a touchstone subject for so many in modern Wales? Friend of the pod, and Professor at Swansea University, Martin Johnes has just published the definitive analysis of this disputed object. More than just cultural or educational history, the story is one dipped in politics and wrapped in religion and challenges common ideas of who the protagonists and the antagonists were in the ongoing story of keeping yr hen iaith alive. We're delighted to be joined by Martin to discuss the Welsh Not, and you can find out more from him here: https://x.com/martinjohnes The book is available to buy here: https://www.uwp.co.uk/book/welsh-not/ Or read for free in PDF form here: https://www.uwp.co.uk/app/uploads/9781837721818_WEB.pdf As always, you can find the latest from us on the socials @hiraethpod, including BlueSky here: https://bsky.app/profile/hiraethpod.bsky.social We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

As we come to the end of 2024, we thought it would be a great idea to catch up with friend of the pod and leading independent journalist in Wales, Will Hayward. We catch up with Will about his own latest developments in terms of addressing an under-served Welsh news space, his outlook on the public and political mood across the country and take a look at the state of the political parties as attention inevitably turns to the Senedd 2026 election. You can find Will pretty much everywhere on social media but try starting with the below: Will Hayward Newsletter: https://substack.com/@willhayward For Wales, See Wales Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/36K7BSmczcZywwqmGT8ALq Will's website: https://willhayward.co.uk/ As always, you can find the latest from us here: https://x.com/HiraethPod We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

One of the less well known but perhaps more significant outcomes of the Welsh Labour - Plaid Cymru Cooperation Agreement following the 2021 national election in Wales, was a commitment to "Commission independent advice to examine potential pathways to net zero by 2035...". Shortly afterwards an expert group was assembled with former Pontypridd Senedd member Jane Davidson chairing, the Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP) providing the research supported by a secretariat from Welsh Government. Three years later, the work has been completed and the 'pathway' reports received by Deputy FM Huw Irranca-Davies. So, what next? What will happen with the reports and what were the key recommendations made? To discuss, we are joined by Jane Davidson and Dr Jack Price of the WCPP. To find out more about Net Zero 2035, head to: Net Zero 2035 Wales Challenge Group: https://netzero2035.wales/ and the Wales Centre for Public Policy: https://wcpp.org.uk/publications/?select-programme-type%5B%5D=economy-decarbonisation-and-skills As always, you can find the latest from us here: https://x.com/HiraethPod We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

Many of our listeners will share our interest, concern, and confusion about the state of politics in the USA. After the extraordinary times of the pandemic, chaos, and ultimately violence of 2020 Presidential campaign, many hoped for a return to 'normality' if not 'stability' in 2024. However, it was not to be. We arrive in early November with one of the most extraordinary campaigns coming to an end. The return of Donald Trump as a likely winner, one of the most consequential TV debates in history, the Democratic candidate dropping out mid-race, assassination attempts, hurricanes, the return of Hulk Hogan... the list goes on. So what to make of it all? Thankfully we have some excellence expertise in the field of American politics here in Wales and our two guests - Dr Joseph Phillips of the Wales Governance Centre, Cardiff University, and Black Hawk Hancock for DePaul University in Chicago - help us to understand the political trends and polarisation beneath the headlines. Our guests: Dr Joseph Phillips: https://x.com/polpsychjoe Black Hawk Hancock: https://blackhawkhancock.com/ As always, you can find the latest from us here: https://x.com/HiraethPod We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

As you may have seen on our socials recently, we just hosted our first live event with friends of the pod from the That's Devolved! team, and great Cardiff venue, Porters. Our guest is one of the few Members of the Senedd with high name recognition, with all the good and bad that comes with that - Lee Waters, Member for Llanelli. Widely considered one of the most intellectually curious and independently minded of the Labour group, he will be forever be linked with the events of the last year which saw him usher in one of the most contested pieces of Welsh Law in the shape of the 20mph default speed limit across the country. His public comments on the controversies surrounding Vaughan Gething's time as Labour leader also put Lee at odds with many inside the party and precipitated a government revolt forcing the then-FM to stand down. However, as you will hear in this interview chaired by our own Matthew Hexter, Lee has plenty of valuable insight to both the inner workings and outer dysfunctions of our parliament and government machines, and the surrounding political cultures. Enjoy! A video of this event is available here: https://youtu.be/VZbWZRaWIFY Our partners: That's Devolved: https://x.com/ThatsDevolved Porters Cardiff: https://x.com/Porterscardiff As always, you can find the latest from us here: twitter.com/HiraethPod We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

After what can only be described as a catastrophic UK General Election which left the Conservatives without a single MP in the country, it could be expected that the mood inside the Senedd group and wider party in Wales would be sombre. However, due to the new UK Labour Government's surprisingly troubled first 100 days and the drama and trauma surrounding the Welsh Labour Government so far this year, the Conservatives see plenty for potential to rebuild. To discuss the state of the party in Wales, reflect on the UK election result, the current leadership contest, the rise of Reform UK, and the prospects for the next Senedd election, we are joined by James Evans MS, Member of the Senedd for Brecon and Radnorshire. You can find James on X/Twitter here: https://x.com/JamesEvansMS As always, you can find the latest from us here: twitter.com/HiraethPod We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

It is the end of an era in Wales. Arguably the world's first industrial nation, we are now on the cusp of being largely de-industrialised as 300 years of melting iron comes to an end with the extinguished blast furnaces in Port Talbot. We discuss the politics of this extraordinary national moment as well as a round up of the political party conferences this Autumn, the Labour Party's expenses criticism, the Conservative Party's leadership election, and the rise of Reform UK as they turn their eyes to national elections in Wales and Scotland in 2026. We also make some bold predictions, some criticism of sitting MSs, and discuss the looming issues on the political horizon in Wales. You can find your hosts here: Matthew Hexter: https://x.com/hexter101 Ceri Davies: https://www.instagram.com/ceriscastles/ Richard Martin: https://bsky.app/profile/mimosacymru.bsky.social The ITV Wales education story: https://www.itv.com/news/2024-10-03/welsh-government-accepts-need-to-improve-guidance-on-teaching-reading As always, you can find the latest from us here: twitter.com/HiraethPod We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

18 months after his election as leader of Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth has seen the party through some difficult times (such as the revelations of poor conduct inside the party that led to the Prosiect Pawb report and recommendations) and some celebratory ones (such as the party's success in both Caerfyrddin and Ynys Môn in the UK-wide general election in 2024). As the party resets in the the Senedd following their early termination of the Cooperation Agreement with Welsh Labour and turns its attention towards the campaign for the next national election in 2026 and its new voting system and constituencies, what are the top priorities for 'the party of Wales'? We discuss all this and more with Rhun, who you can follow on Twitter/X and all the other socials: https://x.com/RhunapIorwerth As always, you can find the latest from us here: twitter.com/HiraethPod We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

The 'England and Wales' justice system has already been in the news for all the wrong reasons in 2024. Many years of underfunding and uneven and unsuccessful policy have left it creaking. Against a backdrop of underfunding, crumbling court estate, and widening legal deserts, the new UK Government's first major act in the sector has been to engage in widespread early release in prisons to manage capacity. It is a sector on the brink of crisis. Of course here at the Hiraeth Pod we call it the 'Wales and England' justice system and in the latest of our pods examining the reality in Wales, we're delighted to be joined by The Law Society to discuss their latest report 'From Caernarfon to Caerdydd: Re-imagining Justice in Wales 2030' that takes a Wales-centric view of these issues. We discuss the fundamental issues here, ongoing debates about devolution to bring Wales into line with Scotland and Northern Ireland, the total absence of separate data for Wales's justice sector, the legal aid crisis, and the barriers to entering the profession for poorer students. You can find a copy of the report on the Law Society's website: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/about-us/law-society-wales/reimagining-justice-2030The Law Society Wales: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/about-us/law-society-wales/And on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-law-society-wales-cymdeithas-y-cyfreithwyr/ Previous podcasts about the justice system in Wales:The Welsh Criminal Justice System, on the Jagged Edge: https://youtu.be/wNBjmkh8NFEJustice and Youth Justice for Wales: https://youtu.be/RyLbtSjclcM As always, you can find the latest from us @hiraethpod on most social media, including Twitter/X here: twitter.com/HiraethPod We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

We kick off September in the same way that political parties and campaigners all across Wales are doing, with eyes on the new proposals for Senedd 'super constituencies' that will be contested in the 2026 Welsh general election. The Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru's remit from the Senedd has been to find a robust way to pair off our 32 UK Parliament constituencies and create 16 'super constituencies', from which six Senedd Members will be elected on a PR list system, similar to our current regional list system. But this is not an easy task, and the timeline is extremely tight for this kind of work. So we're delighted to be joined by BDCC CEO Shereen Williams to introduce the proposals and discuss the details of the project. - Find the proposals here: https://www.dbcc.gov.wales/ - Follow the DBCC on socials: https://linktr.ee/democracycymru - And Shereen is here: https://x.com/ShereenWilliams As always, you can find the latest from us @hiraethpod on most social media, including Twitter/X here: twitter.com/HiraethPod We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

It will have escaped nobody's notice that the UK Government is 'under new management' and has indeed changed, following the UK General Election in July. One of the most Wales-facing roles is, of course, the Secretary of State for Wales. A role whose value has been questioned in recent times and was certainly used by the former administration to provide a vector for attack on the Welsh Government and the Welsh Labour Party. However, now that it is a Labour-led government in Westminster, it means that for the first time since 2010 the role is held by a politician looking for partnership with party colleagues in government in Cardiff. So it is time for a reset. Leading that reset and fronting much of the UK Government's operations in Wales is Cardiff East MP Jo Stevens and in this interview we discuss many of the pressing issues in Wales. We discuss the economic situation, the looming impact of the changes planned by Tata Steel for its Port Talbot plant, the return of structural funds to Welsh Government, and the ongoing intra- and extra- party debates about the future of devolution. You can find out more about Jo's work as Secretary of State here: https://x.com/WalesOffice And as Cardiff East MP here: https://x.com/JoStevensLabour As always, you can find the latest from us @hiraethpod on most social media, including Twitter/X here: twitter.com/HiraethPod We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

We are one month (or in Welsh units, two First Ministers) on from the 2024 General Election, and finishing our mini-series of analyses into the results in each of the constituent nations of the United Kingdom with a look to the North to try and understand more about the people and priorities of Scotland. For well over a decade the central debate has revolved around the country's constitution future inside or outside both the British and European Unions. However, the emergence of a successful UK Labour Party in England has been mirrored by a resurgence of the Scottish Party, while myriad forced and unforced errors have weakened the once all-powerful SNP. So how did Labour make such a comeback, where next for the SNP, how will the Scottish Tories build on their remaining support, and what future the Greens, Lib Dems, and Reform? And at the heart of it, what are the Scottish people looking for in their national and union leadership? To discuss we are joined by Dr Fraser McMillan of Edinburgh University and the Scottish Election Study. You can find out more from Fraser here: https://x.com/frasmcm As always, you can find the latest from us @hiraethpod on most social media, including Twitter/X here: twitter.com/HiraethPod We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

In the aftermath of the 2024 General Election, we are taking deep dives into the results in each of the constituent nations of the United Kingdom to try and understand more about the peoples and priorities of each part of the union. England, of course, barely featured in the campaigns, the manifestos, or indeed in the statements and portfolios from its new government. With Britain and England being largely synonymous for many political parties and campaigners, its presence is mostly implied with or inferred from euphemisms such as 'the country' even when specific policies being discussed are decided by the Westminster Parliament for England alone. The only real mention came thanks to a successful run to the Euro 2024 Final (Rishi Sunak take note!). So to take a look at the way England voted, how its new government plans to respond to its challenges, and to discuss the patchwork of regional devolution that now defines England differently to the other home nations is John Denham, Professorial Fellow on English Identity and Politics at Southampton University, Director of the English Labour Network, and former Minister in the last Labour UK Government. - John can be found here: https://twitter.com/JYDenham - The Centre for English Identity and Politics: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/research/institutes-centres/centre-for-english-identity-politics - His blog is here: https://www.theoptimisticpatriot.co.uk/ As always, you can find the latest from us @hiraethpod on most social media, including Twitter/X here: twitter.com/HiraethPod We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

Following the 2024 UK General Election, many Labour MPs are grappling for the first time with the challenge of becoming a government minister. Of the 111 appointments made by the new Prime Minister, only 18 have held ministerial roles before and only 4 are returning to the roles they previously held. Of course our own national government in Wales is currently poised to begin its third (and hopefully final) iteration of 2024 as the "Labour’s first female head of state in the UK” will reshuffle the government once she is confirmed as new First Minister. With some new members of the government such as Sarah Murphy and Jack Sargeant barely months into their roles, they too will be trying to learn quickly. So what does it take to become a good minister, whether at national or union level? Well, thankfully Prof Leighton Andrews has just written a book on this very subject and we are delighted to be joined by him to discuss not only this subject but also the recent events in Cardiff Bay that ultimately led to the resignation of former First Minister Vaughan Gething. We recorded this in the period overlapping the embattled end to Mr Gething’s tenure and ahead of the commencement of Eluned Morgan’s so Leighton has kindly recorded an updated final segment to reflect this. Leighton can be found here: https://x.com/LeightonAndrews Leighton’s Substack is here: https://t.co/AplBOByve3 And his book can be found here: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-50008-4 We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod