Will Welsh Labour Elect A Man Apparently Suffering From Amnesia As Leader And First Minister?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

The contest to become Welsh Labour leader and next First Minister is an interesting one. If only because rather like the Brexiteers the candidates seem to be promising everything to make things better in Wales should they be elected (which, as I've chatted about before, is probably the biggest condemnation of the soon to be ex First Minister Carwyn Jones - indeed I'm currently in a discussion with a Labour supporter on Twitter asking for a specific success of his tenure. So far nothing) but not making clear how they would do it.

We have chatted mainly about favourite Mark Drakeford. But Vaughan Gething is who we will discuss here. After all he has apparently developed a worrying case of amnesia.

Last Saturday was the People's Vote march in London. Hundreds of thousands of people (or if you're a Brexiteer ten) marched through the centre seeking an extra referendum once the final "deal" (if there is one) is reached or whether we should crash out to a long dark Brexit of the soul.

Mr Gething sent various tweets supporting the march and the vote, in one case even invoking Nelson Mandela. But I don't recall Mr Mandela ever supporting something that he'd voted against previously. That is what Mr Gething did though in the National Assembly. Voting against a Plaid Cymru motion supporting a People's Vote.

Not the only evidence of his apparent amnesia though. He has announced an end of cash cuts towards local authorities (which I have focused on Bridgend in this blog) if he becomes leader which presumably is an attack on Drakeford as finance secretary. But Gething is health secretary, part of the Welsh Labour cabinet which runs on collective responsibility. He did not resign when the latest cuts were announced as a matter of principle. So either he supported them, or he forgot to do so.

Some might say that Mr Gething is an ambitious man doing anything and everything he can do get votes to reach the top political post within Wales. Not me of course. I'm going with amnesia.

One question though Mr Gething needs to answer. Assuming Mark "Red Cairns" Drakeford wins will he stay in the cabinet if these cuts to local services proceed or resign?

I hope other people ask him the same question as well. He might forget otherwise.

Until the next time.