Gareth Lewis: How are Labour's Welsh pledges looking?

The atmosphere at Labour's first conference since taking power has been sober

Two-and-a-half months after winning 27 of Wales' 32 seats at the general election, and almost four months since Sir Keir Starmer's first election campaign visit to Wales, Labour's first party conference since taking power is underway.

Campaigning in Abergavenny in May the audience was almost drunk with excitement at the prospect of a big win.

But there has been a more sober atmosphere at conference in Liverpool.

Governing is harder than campaigning and Labour has not had an easy start to its time in charge, partly of its own making.

Sir Keir unveiled six Welsh pledges on his visit to Monmouthshire including a more stable economy, bringing down NHS waiting lists, safer streets and green energy investment.

It is early days, but how is all that shaping up?

Economic stability

This was at the heart of the PM's speech on Tuesday.

But it will take time and it might be painful, especially if you are losing the winter fuel payment, or if you are losing your job at Tata steel in Port Talbot.

The steel deal is essentially the same as the Conservative plan Labour previously criticised, albeit with better redundancy terms.

If you don't feel economically stable yet, the PM is asking you to be patient, because, he says, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

There will be more pain to come first though in the UK government's budget next month when spending cuts and some tax rises are expected, and the Welsh government's budget in December.

But there is also the possibility that if, as hinted, the chancellor does relax her self-imposed rules to allow freer spending on big infrastructure projects like hospitals and transport, then that might make more money available for the Welsh government, which has responsibility for those areas.

Bringing down NHS waiting lists

Welsh NHS waiting times have just hit another record high.

Bringing them down is First Minister Eluned Morgan's top priority.

A health plan involving a more concerted effort to move Welsh patients over the border for surgery was the big Welsh announcement at the conference.

But it is light on detail such as targets for the number of patients to benefit, capacity in England, funding and co-ordination.

Labour's opponents say that without any detail this is a PR gimmick.

Even the Welsh secretary, who announced the plan on Monday, said this was not a panacea.

Great British Energy

This is the publicly-owned company which will try and boost investment in clean energy.

This is a goal for both Welsh and UK governments, which have carbon emissions targets to meet, bills to bring down and energy security to maintain.

The PM confirmed at conference the firm's headquarters would be in Aberdeen.

What about Wales?

We have huge potential.

The first minister spoke just over a week ago about the crucial role the green economy should play in Wales.

Think floating offshore wind, onshore wind, greener steel, maybe even tidal power. And jobs.

Port regeneration comes into this too.

Bringing NHS waiting times down is First Minister Eluned Morgan's top priority

You might need to put up with more pylons to connect some of that up to the grid though.

There has been a lot of lobbying going on at the conference by the green energy industry and they have shared something of a sense of frustration.

They would like to know how the UK government intends to spend billions of pounds set aside for a national wealth fund aimed at green industry, they would like a clearer path plotted by both governments and they want quicker decision making.

Keep an eye out for the UK government's industrial strategy next spring and maybe a taster at next month's budget.

Green energy potential is one thing. Realising it is another.

Tackling anti-social behaviour

Back in Abergavenny, Sir Keir voiced his distaste when people suggested to him this was low level crime and not something he should concentrate on.

Then he promised 13,000 more community police officers across the UK and a "safe and secure environment for every single person in Wales".

But funding - and tight public finances - will come into this.

The Welsh government's draft budget last December included a £7.5m cut to the budget for police community support officers, often on the front line in tackling anti-social behaviour.

The PM is relying on patience - and a tolerance for short term pain - from voters in Wales and across the UK.

His argument is that longer term it will be worth it.

He has an eye on ten years of national renewal with the comfort of a huge Commons majority.

Eluned Morgan will need a return on that pain sooner with the 2026 Senedd election looming on the horizon.