Wales’ First Minister had promised that in the new year she would lay out her priorities for the year to come, and today (Tuesday, January 7) she told the Senedd that potholes, school attendance and mental health were on her list. During her statement, titled “Delivering for Wales”, she spoke of the things that have been achieved by Labour.
She said money has been put into the NHS to cut waiting times, adding: “To the envy of health trusts in England we’ve already rolled out the all-Wales fracture liaison service, a new way to prevent people from breaking bones – in every health board.” She spoke of people in Wales getting their bowel cancer screening tests at 50 and £50 million being made available for school buildings, and £180m to help students.
She also gave her plans and priorities for the remaining time before voters in Wales go to the ballot box. The shadow of a 2026 election is looming ever more. The pressure is on Labour, not just from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, but from political rivals as both Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives have their own points to prove.
Here’s what we learnt from Eluned Morgan’s statement to the Senedd:
1. She wants action, and quickly
Eluned Morgan told the Senedd she has made it clear to officials in the Welsh Government that 2025 is about “delivery”. “More pace. More action. More results,” she said. “I’m proud of what we’re doing, but I’m more excited about what we’re going to do. Working with anyone who shares our vision for Wales: businesses, councils, communities, trade unions. We’re building momentum.”
“But here’s the thing – we’re just getting started. Let me be clear as I have been with my officials – 2025 isn’t about big reports,” she said. Ironically, just as she finished her transport minister took to his feet to speak about Holyhead Port and a press release titled “Welsh Government announces task force to maintain long-term stability for Holyhead Port” arrived.
2. She is ramping up the budget pressure
In both First Minister’s Questions and her delivery statement the First Minister made it clear the other parties have to back her party’s budget. “We have got a proposed new budget, and the public in Wales will be watching to see whether it’s supported or not,” she said in her statement.
She made several similar comments in her earlier answers to Senedd colleagues in First Minister’s Questions. In answering a question to Jane Dodds, who is seen as the most likely person to back the budget, she said they would “like” to continue to pay the real living budget, and “if” there was a budget then “we will be able to continue to offer a £100 cap to people in terms of domiciliary care”.
In an answer to Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth she told him: “Let me just be clear: if we can’t pass the budget, it will be difficult for us to adhere to and to deliver on a reduction in the waiting times. So, if he’s serious about wanting to help us with the NHS, then he should consider what he’s going to do when it comes to the budget.”
She added: “He and his party are threatening not to support it, and, when it comes to presenting yourselves to the public and asking us to fix the NHS, you will be held to account for not giving the money that we want to help to deliver for Wales. The money is there. It is there to be picked up. It’s important, I think, that you put your mouth where the money is and you support that investment.”
3. What’s more bread and butter than potholes?
On a day she was criticised by one of her own backbenchers for her strategy of ditching big policy in favour of “bread and butter” issues, she announced that one of the big policies for this year was…potholes. Potholes and buses. Announcing her plans for the period until the end of the Senedd term, she said: “We’re going to spend £175 million more on modernising our NHS. We’re going to bring buses under public control and repair thousands of potholes and pavements. We’re going to spend more money on culture, heritage and sport, because that’s what makes us Welsh.
“We’re going to focus on getting school attendance back to pre-pandemic levels, and we’re going to narrow the gap between those with free school meals and their peers. We’re going to provide additional targeted support for literacy and numeracy for every school, and we’re going to provide £40 million to support people with additional learning needs and we’re going to make sure every secondary school has a plan in place to support mental health and well-being.
“We’re going to provide £144 million to maintain our flagship apprenticeship programme. These are just a few examples of the ambitious plans that we have.”
4. Terrible timing
Today felt like the gun on the 2026 election had fired. From Rhun ap Iorwerth’s morning press conference setting out his stall about why his party should usurp Labour, to Eluned Morgan talking about what her party will be focusing on before 2026.
But, the problem with set piece speeches is that actual news has happened around them. While Eluned Morgan rattled off millions of pounds of money she wants to spend in the NHS, her opponents grilled her on the winter pressures seen so acutely in the health service over the Christmas period. She spoke of speeding up planning decisions on the day the leader of Wales’ biggest council – and a likely Senedd candidate for Labour – criticised the Welsh Government for delaying a huge project. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
That wasn’t lost on her political opponent. Darren Millar told the First Minister: “We heard in your statement that you’re going to speed up planning decisions, and this is on the same day that the leader of Cardiff council is criticising you for not having made a decision on Cardiff Parkway railway station. You couldn’t make it up. The timing couldn’t be worse.”
5. The things she didn’t discuss
Conservative leader Darren Millar highlighted the things Mrs Morgan didn’t discuss, decisions taken by the UK Labour Government which impact people in Wales. “You didn’t mention older people, by the way, in your statement.
“You didn’t mention older people. That’s because, of course, you’ve failed on your promise to the WASPI women; you’ve failed in terms of the continuity of the winter fuel allowance, which has been withdrawn. You say you haven’t got the money to introduce a Welsh winter fuel allowance, and yet you’ve just put up in your budget, by £117m, your central services budget.
“Well, I know what older people in Wales do need, and it’s not a voucher. It’s not a voucher to go to a warm hub or to help them pay their electricity bills, it’s to make sure that those winter fuel allowances are there to save the lives of 4,000 people across Wales that even your own Government estimates will be lost as a result of that withdrawal. It is a disgrace.”