Mark Drakeford's speech to the Labour Party Conference

Mark Drakeford MS, First Minister of Wales and Leader of the Welsh Labour Party

It is a privilege, once again, to make this report to Conference.

A report of a Welsh Labour Government, and the Welsh Labour Party.

And of a Labour First Minister, making this report for the 24^th consecutive year of Labour in power in the Welsh Parliament.

Conference, it is conventional to set out the many achievements of Labour in office - and I’ll come to that in a moment.

But I want to start, unconventionally, by pointing to the danger which exists for a party - our party - which has earned the trust of its electorate over such a long period.

The greatest danger is that it becomes used to the privilege of power, that we settle into the seats of government.

That we become content with being in charge instead of being determined to use that power for the progressive purposes which shape our party.

Fortunately, the remedy is close at hand.

And it’s not the remedy offered up by the hapless Prime Minister last week.

Conference, I am proud of the record of Labour in government in Wales.

We don’t seek renewal by denying our own history.

By attacking the record of the Party to which we belong.

To claim not to be responsible for our own actions.

That shameless pretense is not the Labour way, nor the Welsh way.

Our recipe for renewal is to move always towards the cutting edge, to the place where new and radical solutions can be found.

To the place where we can make things better for people in Wales.

And in so doing, we move to the founding principles of our party - to that determination to eradicate poverty, to confront injustice and to put this country on a path to greater equality.

Famously, it was a Labour Prime Minister who told this conference that we are at our best when we are boldest.

In Wales, we are that bold Labour government, bringing forward bold reforms.

We are creating a Senedd fit for the future, fully elected by proportional representation, where every vote will count.

We are abolishing the pursuit of profit in the care of our looked-after children.

Reforming the school year - 150 years in the making - to put the needs of those children who have the least at the forefront of our decision making.

Bringing buses back into public control and making coal tips safer.

The path to sustaining Labour in power in Wales is never to be satisfied.

It is never to think the job is done.

And it’s never to be put off by the lies and distortions of our opponents.

Conference, the desperation of the Tories knows no limits.

But, for us, there are no limits to what we could achieve in a partnership between Labour in Wales and Labour in Westminster.

Because, if I can set out the achievements of a reforming and radical Labour Government in Wales

Just imagine what we can achieve working with a UK Labour government determined to invest in the renewable energy which will shape the future of our economy in Wales:

Doubling onshore wind.

Tripling solar power.

Quadrupling energy created in the Celtic Sea.

All that while we deliver a new deal for working people.

Employment rights guaranteed from your first day in work.

A ban on zero hours contracts.

An end to the pernicious practice of fire and rehire.

All that, based on a partnership with our trade unions to unleash the productive potential of our economy.

The social partnership model we have enshrined in law in Wales is a model that can be echoed in a model for the future of the United Kingdom.

Conference, talking about bold ambitions, we’re fortunate that Gordon Brown has set out a blueprint for the incoming Labour government in his groundbreaking report last year.

A new and strengthened solidarity union - a true partnership of equals between all four nations.

A voice for Wales guaranteed in a reformed second chamber.

New powers for the Senedd and for Welsh people.

A union that works.

A union that people in all parts of the United Kingdom want and choose to belong to - because that union belongs to them.

So, Conference, we are ready for that general election, whenever it comes.

Our excellent Welsh Labour candidates are ready.

From Ynys Môn to Monmouthshire, they will provide a strong Welsh voice in that next Labour government.

Llais Cymreig clir o fewn Llywodraeth Lafur.

And Conference, we’re ready to make sure that our ambitions for tomorrow reflect the great traditions of our past.

Aneurin Bevan said that he was 21 before he met a Tory.

We want to give young people in Wales that same opportunity.

That’s why we’re working to make Wales, once again, a country free of Tory MPs in 2024.

Free of their toxic brand of personal attacks and culture wars.

Free of their deep hostility to devolution; their casual cruelty and malign neglect.

It’s more than 20 years since I attended Labour Party Conference with the then-First Minister Rhodri Morgan.

In his speech that day he repeated one of the great truths of our politics - that the relationship between Wales and the Tories is one based on tolerance and understanding

They don’t understand us. And we can’t tolerate them.

That’s why we can’t wait for a General Election - to rid Wales of the scourge of 13 years of Tory failure and to welcome in a new Labour government led by Keir Starmer.

A government with a genuine seriousness of purpose.

A government which will put the interests of people first.

But we know none of that can be taken for granted.

In Wales, we’ve had the immense privilege of winning that power for a quarter of a century.

We fight for every vote in every election, renewing our relationship with voters across Wales with bold ideas and policies to make our country stronger.

Now we must the same throughout the United Kingdom so we can rebuild our country for the better.