Welsh leader Vaughan Gething says he will resign over campaign donation scandal
LONDON (AP) — The leader of Wales’ government, First Minister Vaughan Gething, said Tuesday he will resign after several members of his government quit over a campaign donation scandal.
Gething said that “I have this morning taken the difficult decision to begin the process of stepping down as leader of the Welsh Labour Party and, as a result, First Minister.”
The announcement came after four members of Gething’s semiautonomous government quit, demanding he resign.
Gething, the son of a Welsh father and a Zambian mother, made history in March when he was elected to head the Cardiff-based administration, becoming the first Black leader of a government in the U.K.
He has faced criticism for accepting 200,000 pounds ($255,000) in donations during his leadership campaign from a recycling company whose owner had been found guilty of environmental offenses and breaching health and safety regulations.
His leadership has crumbled since the Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru ended a cooperation arrangement with Gething’s minority Labour government in April. Yhe following month Gething lost a nonbinding no-confidence vote in Wales’ parliament, the Senedd.
In a resignation statement, Gething said he had “hoped that over the summer a period of reflection, rebuilding and renewal could take place under my leadership.
“I recognize that this is not possible,” he added.
Wales, which has a population of about 3 million, is one of four parts of the United Kingdom, along with England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The British government in London is responsible for defense, foreign affairs and other U.K.-wide issues, while administrations in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast control areas such as education and health.