Absent Labour pair would have backed Gething - claim

Hannah Blythyn and Lee Waters were absent for Wednesday's no confidence vote

Two Labour MSs who were absent for a vote on Vaughan Gething's leadership would have backed him had they taken part, a supporter of the Welsh first minister has said.

Hannah Blythyn and Lee Waters were said to be sick on Wednesday as Mr Gething lost a confidence vote by two votes.

Vikki Howells, who chairs the Welsh Labour group, said she was "confident" they would have backed Mr Gething had they been able to attend.

Both Ms Blythyn and Mr Waters have clashed with the first minister in the recent past.

Ms Blythyn, who represents the Delyn constituency, has not been seen in the Senedd since she was sacked as a minister by Mr Gething for allegedly leaking text messages – something she strongly denies.

Meanwhile Mr Waters, who represents Llanelli, has been a high-profile critic of Mr Gething's decision to take £200,000 from a company owned by a man convicted of illegally dumping waste in 2013.

Mr Waters had been transport minister until March, and had been the figurehead for the controversial 20mph speed limit policy.

Neither have publicly commented on Wednesday's vote.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Ms Howells said that even when Mr Waters spoke on donations "he underlined the fact that he has complete confidence in the first minister".

"I am confident that both of those members would have voted to show their confidence in the first minister, to show their confidence, if they had been paired."

She said Vaughan Gething is the "democratically elected leader of Welsh Labour".

Ms Howells said Mr Gething had not broken any rules in accepting the donation and that he had apologised "for any distress that this has called".

Jenny Rathbone, the MS for Cardiff Central, revealed this week that she had offered Mr Gething a loan to pay back the £200,000 donation.

Ms Howells dismissed the idea of Mr Gething taking the money, saying it was "for the birds".

"It would be a breach of the ministerial code for him to take a loan from another politician in that respect."

Analysis

By Gareth Lewis, BBC Wales News political editor

Two Labour figures - Ken Skates and Vikki Howells - say the absentees, Lee Waters and Hannah Blythyn, would have voted with Labour if they'd been there.

That implies they'd do the same if another vote of no confidence were called. Bear in mind too for any Labour MS it would also be an enormous step to vote in favour of bringing their own government down.

I wonder too if the opposition parties are not quite so confident that they would be united if the stakes were higher.

How can absent MSs vote?

Senedd members do not need to be in the chamber to take part in votes.

They have used an online voting system specifically built for the Senedd since the pandemic, which is used in the Welsh Parliament debating chamber itself as well as elsewhere.

Advice to members says they should not be travelling while they take part, and they should be visible to the presiding officer via the Senedd's Zoom connection.

Members are expected to be joining the meeting in "good time" ahead of votes - they are asked not to use a mobile device.

Should the system breakdown, the guidance says the presiding officer could use their judgement to decide whether an oral vote should be given instead.

Senedd members with long-term illness, bereavement, caring responsibilities or on parental leave can also vote by proxy.

Such requests are approved by the presiding officer. Currently only one MS has a proxy vote - Jack Sargeant, for parental leave.