Left-wing parties would block a Reform government in Wales, says Drakeford
PA MediaLeft-wing parties would team up to stop Reform UK forming the next Welsh government, even if the party wins the most seats, Mark Drakeford has said.
The former Welsh first minister's comments come as polls suggest Reform is competing with Plaid Cymru for top spot following the Senedd election on 7 May.
Neither are expected to win a majority of seats and any party hoping to form the next government is likely to have to strike a deal with others to get their nomination for first minister through.
Reform's Welsh leader Dan Thomas said Drakeford's comments showed "establishment parties will do absolutely anything" to stop "real people from having a seat at the table".
Drakeford, now Welsh finance minister, spoke to the BBC as his time in the Senedd came to an end on Wednesday, when Wales' parliament sat for the final time before the election.
Drakeford told the Politics Wales programme he believed most people in Wales would vote for left-leaning parties at the election and the "political challenge" would be for those parties to work together to provide a "stable and progressive government".
Following the election any party will be able to nominate a candidate to be first minister ahead of a Senedd vote.
In order to win, a candidate must secure a majority of the total number of votes cast.
However, Drakeford said: "I don't believe for a moment that a Reform nominee would be endorsed by the Senedd because I think that next Senedd will have three-quarters or two-thirds of its members who do not share the views of that party.
"So even if they are the largest party - and I don't think they will be - but even if they were, they could put forward their nominee and that nominee will not succeed."
When it was put to him that critics would then accuse the left-wing parties of ganging up to block Reform, Drakeford said: "The left-wing parties... would have more seats and more votes between them and they will be casting those votes to reflect the views of their electorate."
Thomas said: "The establishment parties will do absolutely anything they can to stop real people from having a seat at the table and having their voices heard.
"This May, it's time to send them a message that hardworking Welsh men and women will no longer be ignored."
Few people have played a bigger role in the devolution story over the past 27 years than Drakeford.
Initially as senior adviser to former First Minister Rhodri Morgan, he helped set the course for Welsh politics in the 21st Century.
In 2011 he became a member of the National Assembly - before it was renamed Welsh Parliament or Senedd - and over the past 15 years he has held some of the most prominent posts in the Welsh government.
He served as first minister between 2018 and 2024, leading Wales through the Covid pandemic.
Getty ImagesBut having led Welsh Labour to victory at 2021 Senedd election, he leaves with his party's proud century-long record of electoral success in Wales hanging in the balance.
The latest YouGov poll for ITV Cymru Wales and Cardiff University suggested the party was in third place on 13%, narrowly ahead of the Greens on 12%.
Asked what was behind Welsh Labour's poor showing in the polls, Drakeford said: "There's no doubt that every time you win an election the hill gets steeper the next time.
"'Time for a change' is a very potent slogan in politics and the longer you are in government the more potent that slogan becomes.
"There is a feeling out there, after those long years of austerity, that the system isn't working for people, and then people lose faith in the ways of doing things that they had supported in the past."
Asked if he took any personal responsibility for Welsh Labour's performance in the polls, Drakeford said: "You don't do these jobs without being willing to shoulder
"I went into the last election on the basis of an opinion poll that said it was going to be Labour's worst-ever result and in the end, only six weeks later, it was our best-ever result."
- Politics Wales, BBC One Wales at 10:00 BST on 29 March and on iPlayer
