Labour not taking Vaughan Gething's leftover cash

Left over donations from Vaughan Gething's campaign will not stay with Labour

Donations left over from Vaughan Gething's leadership campaign will not be given to the Labour Party, Welsh Labour has confirmed.

A total of £31,600 was left over from the £251,600 he raised in cash - including £200,000 from a firm owned by a man previously convicted of environmental offences.

Senior Labour figures had warned against the party taking leftover money from the company, Dauson Environmental Group.

A Welsh Labour spokesperson said the first minister "is donating surplus funds from his campaign to wider progressive causes".

The plan was agreed by the officers of Welsh Labour's executive committee, the spokesperson said.

Which causes receive the money will be up to the executive - Mr Gething said he will not be part of that conversation.

BBC Wales was told that all options were being considered for which causes may receive the money and no decisions had been taken.

Welsh Conservative Senedd leader Andrew RT Davies said that not even Labour wanted "to touch this money with barge pole".

Plaid Cymru's Rhun ap Iorwerth said the cash would have tainted Labour's general election campaign had the money been accepted.

Under usual party rules the leftover £31,000 would have gone to Labour.

Mr Gething has faced repeated calls to repay the £200,000 from Dauson Environmental Group, which owns several waste, demolition and recycling businesses.

In the Senedd on Tuesday Mr Gething said the Welsh executive had agreed "to my request" to give the money to "progressive causes".

Mr Gething told the Senedd he will not "take a part in making that decision" about who got the money.

"I think they need to have that conversation freely and without me in the room," he said.

'The easy bit'

Plaid's Mr ap Iorwerth said passing on the residual money was the "easy bit isn't it?"

He said the cash would have "tainted the whole Labour general election campaign".

"Doesn't Labour's decision to reject it prove the first minister's serious error of judgments and being more than happy to take it in the first place," he said.

Mr Gething said: "Not only have I acted within the rules but I've also recognised the points that a number of members have made".

"Which is why there's a process within my own party to look at the future rules to understand the test that everyone needs to meet."

Leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, Andrew RT Davies, said: “This is a damning indictment of Vaughan Gething’s judgement by his own party.

“Not even the Labour Party that elected Jeremy Corbyn wants to touch this money with a barge pole.”

A spokesperson for Welsh Labour said: “As agreed by the officers of the Welsh Executive Committee, Vaughan Gething is donating surplus funds from his campaign to wider progressive causes."

Blythyn evidence

It was the first question session with the first minister in the Senedd since Vaughan Gething fired Hannah Blythyn, his social partnership minister, for allegedly leaking.

On Tuesday Mr Gething declined calls from Andrew RT Davies to publish evidence that the first minister has said showed Ms Blythyn had leaked a text message from him to the media.

She has denied doing so.

Mr Davies said both stories from the government and the former minister "cannot be correct".

"One of them is right, one of them is wrong," he said.

But Mr Gething said he will not "give a running commentary and I won't publish information".

"I recognise a member leaving the government is an event in itself. We're trying to handle that difficult situation as sensitively as possible.

"I still think there is a future for the member in this institution, and potentially in the government in the future," he added.