Skates vows to rebuild Welsh Labour from the grassroots after election defeat

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Welsh Labour leader Ken Skates says the party must “recognise where we went wrong” and rebuild from the grassroots after losing power at May’s Senedd election.

Visiting Caerphilly on Wednesday July 29 to launch a Wales-wide summer tour, Mr Skates outlined his plans to reconnect with working-class communities, backed Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s plans for further devolution, and criticised Plaid Cymru’s spending priorities.

While in Caerphilly, he met with displaced Ukrainians, Labour Party members, and school support staff – and sat down for a chat with Caerphilly Observer.

In May, Welsh Labour lost control of the Senedd for the first time since the dawn of devolution – and now finds itself in opposition.

Mr Skates, who became party leader earlier this month, admitted the party must “recognise where we went wrong” after losing power, and said the Labour movement needed to reconnect with working-class communities across Wales.

He told Caerphilly Observer: “We’ve got to rebuild the party, repurpose it and inject it with passion.

“The only way that we’re really going to get that passion into the party though is by shaping it into a 21st century movement with clear purpose. I firmly believe that meaning comes from having combined purpose and passion and I think a lot of people have struggled to identify what the meaning of the Labour movement has been in recent times.”

Mr Skates continued: “Rebuilding will come from the ground up – from the branches of the Labour Party and from our communities across Wales. Our core principles are still sound, but we need to apply them in a way that reflects where we are now.

“We’ve got to look at the opportunities of tomorrow. We’ve got to ensure that every young person has the best possible life chance. And we need to address the inequalities and the poverty that is still too prevalent in Wales.

“We need to reconnect with that powerful message and that passion that demonstrates we are authentically behind working people.”

Burnham and devolution

Mr Skates backed newly appointed Prime Minister Andy Burnham to help Welsh Labour’s recovery through a fresh push on local devolution.

“Andy passionately believes in a devolution revolution of getting as much power as deep into our communities as possible,” Mr Skates said.

“I’ve always believed that the devolution of power from Westminster to Wales should not end at Cardiff Bay. Andy and I will be working together to drive power closer to people.”

As an example of local decision-making, Mr Skates highlighted his final act as transport minister, which transferred control of more than £100 million in local transport funding to councils.

“People living in and representing Caerphilly know their roads, streets, bus routes and footpaths better than a minister sitting in Cardiff Bay who rarely comes to Caerphilly,” he said.

“Democracy is strongest when people feel in control of the decisions that affect their lives.”

Discussing his devolution vision in more detail, he explained: “It’s absolutely vital we devolve what is appropriate down to local authorities, or to regional structures such as the Cardiff Capital Region.

“We should devolve research and innovation funding to the regions, because within the regions, we’ve got really strong universities that should have a central role in deciding where research and innovation funding should go, alongside businesses.

“That’s the way we’re going to grow a really, really high value economy. That’s the way that we’re going to develop better quality jobs.

“It’s about making sure that powers and funding go to the most appropriate level. There will be cases where it remains in Cardiff Bay. There will be cases where it goes to the regions, there will be cases where it goes to councils.”

Polarisation

But Mr Skates warned that Welsh politics had become increasingly polarised: “What we have right now within the Senedd is an English or British nationalist party in Reform up against a Welsh nationalist party,” he said. “Nationalism is wrong, bad, unhealthy, divisive and polarising. They are two sides of the same coin.

“They need one another to survive – because one repels the other, one makes the other and vice versa.

“What we’re going to do, as a Welsh Labour movement, is cut through that division in politics and to create unity where there is discord and division. To do that, we’ve got to make sure that people genuinely feel that our movement reflects their values, their concerns, their principles, their priorities.

“It’s only through creating a policy base that we’re gonna be able to demonstrate that. First and foremost, we have to deal with economic injustice, with high levels of poverty that still, I’m afraid, are prevalent in too many communities, and we need to make sure that young people have the life chances that they deserve.”

Turning to Plaid Cymru’s minority administration, Mr Skates criticized their recent budget choices, contrasting agricultural spending with funding for local public services.

“Plaid Cymru are still behaving like a party in opposition, particularly on social media,” Mr Skates said. “They are in power on the basis of not having a majority, so they have to build bridges, not burn them.

“They allocated more than £1 billion for farmers, but refused to allocate a single penny extra to additional learning needs in the supplementary budget. They portrayed themselves as a progressive party during the election, but their choices show they are anything but.”