Tory leader open to talks on Welsh budget

Andrew RT Davies is leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd

The Welsh Conservatives' leader in the Senedd has said he is open to talks with the Labour Welsh government on its spending plans.

Andrew RT Davies told the BBC Walescast podcast that the Labour party had "different options" to consider than just Plaid Cymru and Liberal Democrat Jane Dodds.

The Conservatives do not normally support the Labour budget, and historically Labour has been unwilling to work with the Tories.

Meanwhile a Labour MS has suggested there is a "vacuum" in the public's understanding of what the new Welsh Labour leader Eluned Morgan stands for.

Jenny Rathbone said she hoped the new first minister, who is expected to start her job on 6 August, will reverse some of the decisions made by Vaughan Gething during his time in office.

Mr Gething's successor was elected unopposed on Wednesday.

Labour has exactly half of the Senedd's 60 seats and requires the support of one other opposition MS to get its budget passed.

The Welsh government will be looking to pass its next budget in the winter. It usually seeks support from Plaid Cymru - which it had been in a co-operation deal with until a few months ago - or the Liberal Democrats.

Mr Davies said: ‘’It's almost a given that Plaid's position is strengthened in the Senedd because the Tories will never do X, Y or Z.

‘’Ultimately, there are different options for Eluned or the Labour Party to consider and what we've learnt time and time again is when you get in bed with Plaid you end up in not a very good relationship at all.''

Asked if he wanted a deal, he said: "'I'm not saying a deal but I'm saying we're not prepared to be taken for granted.

“We’ve got those sixteen votes in the bag that Rhun might be thinking of or Jane might be thinking of that gives them what they think is strength in negotiations with the government.

‘’That ain't going to happen this time.''

Eluned Morgan was elected unopposed on Wednesday

Ms Morgan became Welsh Labour leader after no other candidates came forward to challenge her.

Jenny Rathbone, Labour MS for Cardiff Central, said there were "special circumstances" but agreed that the election was "disempowering" for the party's membership and its affiliated organisations.

‘’There's a bit of a vacuum in terms of what does Eluned stand for. I know what she stands for but the rest of the public won't know.’’

Ms Rathbone added: ‘’We are all elected on the 2021 manifesto, we can't tear it up and say we'll do something completely different now. We don't have that mandate. We will have to wait for 2026 for that.

"There’s been lots of ways in which Vaughan Gething has rowed back from our manifesto commitments and I hope that some of that will change."

'Telling remark'

Jeremy Miles, who was one of the four Cabinet Secretaries to resign from Vaughan Gething’s government last week, did not put his hat in the ring despite coming a close second in the last leadership race.

When asked about this Ms Rathbone said: ‘’I'm sure, Jeremy Miles will be first minister another day.’’

The leader of Plaid Cymru in Westminster Liz Saville Roberts said the assumption was problematic.

‘’This is a very telling remark on the part of Welsh Labour.

‘’It's almost as though you assume, it's fine, you can hand the highest roles in the land for Wales from one to another as though it was a gift within the Labour Party.’’

You can watch the programme live tonight on BBC1 Wales after the 22:00 BST news, or catch up on iPlayer.