When will Eluned Morgan become First Minister?

Nearly two weeks ago, Eluned Morgan replaced Vaughan Gething as leader of Welsh Labour. This week, she is set to replace him as First Minister of Wales and become the first woman to take on the role.

Baroness Morgan won the support of nearly all Labour Senedd Members to become the party’s new leader without a contest on Wednesday July 24.

It came after First Minister Vaughan Gething was forced to stand down just four months into the job, amid controversy over his campaign donations, a controversial ministerial sacking, and a lost confidence vote.

The Senedd is currently on recess for the summer, which means Baroness Morgan’s official appointment as First Minister hasn’t been straightforward.

In light of her becoming her party’s leader, the Senedd has been recalled to sit on Tuesday August 6, where Senedd Members are expected to officially confirm her as the new First Minister.

A new First Minister has to be officially chosen by a vote in the Senedd, which has 60 members, 30 of which are Labour.

It is not uncommon for opposition parties to put their own leader up for the top job. When this happens, every MS will have to vote by roll call, with a nominee needing a simple majority to assume the role of First Minister.

The Llywydd will recommend the Welsh Parliament’s nominee to the King and the First Minister-elect will address the Senedd.

The First Minister will be appointed by Royal Warrant, a legal document authorised by the King, before being sworn in at the Welsh Government’s Cathays Park headquarters.

Mark Drakeford was the only nominee after the 2021 election but when he was first appointed in 2018, Plaid Cymru and the Tories put forward their leaders as a symbolic gesture, as was the case again in March when Vaughan Gething became First Minister.

However, after the 2016 election, the vote for First Minister between Carwyn Jones and Leanne Wood was tied until the deadlock was broken a week later.

The current parliamentary arithmetic means a tied vote is a possibility but it remains unlikely as it would require agreement between the Tories, Plaid Cymru and Lib Dems.