He who must not be named! Welsh Labour leader fails to mention Keir Starmer as she launches Senedd campaign - before saying he can join her if he brings £14bn for her to spend
The Welsh Labour leader launched her party's Senedd election campaign today, and there was a Sir Keir Starmer-shaped elephant in the room.
Baroness Eluned Morgan launched her desperate bid to cling onto power in Cardiff Bay today, running under a banner of 'a new chapter for Wales' for the party that has run the country for 27 years.
But there was no room for a mention of Sir Keir by name as the First Minister spoke in Newport, amid signs that his unpopularity is a major drag factor west of the Severn.
Polls suggest Labour is likely to be beaten into third place by Plaid Cymru and Reform on May 7, and Baroness Morgan has urged voters not to make it a referendum on the PM's time in Westminster.
Answering questions after the speech the FM said Sir Keir would be welcome on Welsh Labour's campaign trail - if he brings more taxpayers' money for her to spend.
Sir Keir last appeared alongside her last month February to announce his endorsement of a pipeline of rail improvements worth £14 billion, months before voters go to the poll.
'If he brings me another £14 billion, he is very welcome on the campaign trail,' she said today.
'That was significant, it was important, and I was pleased to welcome him, because I have been asking for that money for a long time.'
Baroness Eluned Morgan launched her desperate bid to cling onto power in Cardiff Bay today, running under a banner of 'a new chapter for Wales' for the party that has run the country for 27 years
But there was no room for a mention of Sir Keir by name as the First Minister spoke in Newport, amid signs that his unpopularity is a major drag factor west of the Severn
Asked if she was happy for Sir Keir to be Prime Minister during Welsh Labour's Senedd election campaign, Lady Morgan said 'yes'.
'I have a country to run here,' she added.
'I'm much more interested in focusing on what is important to the people of Wales.'
Both Welsh Labour and Scottish Labour fear they will suffer at May's elections for the Senedd and Scottish Parliament, respectively, due to the unpopularity of Sir Keir's UK Government.
Last month Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called on the PM to resign, saying Sir Keir was a 'decent man' but there had been 'too many mistakes'.
Baroness Morgan refrained from commenting until the following day, amid speculation she could follow Mr Sarwar in calling for the PM to go.
But instead she said Sir Keir had her 'full confidence', and described him as an 'honourable man'.
In January she begged voters not to treat May's Senedd election as a protest against Sir Keir's government, as Labour faces losing power for the first time since devolution.
Polls have suggested that the Senedd is likely to be run by a coalition government made up of nationalists Plaid Cymru and the Greens, with Reform leading the opposition.
Baroness Morgan could see her party reduced from its current 29 seats to just eight, becoming just the third largest party.
Today she warned that neither Reform nor Plaid offer 'real answers' for Wales and suggested the nationalists' 'defining project' is independence.
She said: 'What we're seeing around us in Wales, across the UK and around the world, is politics that is louder than it is wiser, angrier than it is useful, more interested in posturing than progress.
'Reform offers rage, loud rage, but no real answers.
'Plaid offers slogans… Scratch the surface and there is no plan.'
At the campaign launch, Lady Morgan announced a commitment to transform mental healthcare to provide easy-to-access, same-day services.
The party has also pledged a £2 bus fare cap, improved access to hospital transport, and a crackdown on fly-tippers by increasing fines.
A spokeswoman for Plaid Cymru said: 'This is tired stuff from a party that has been in power in Wales for almost 30 years and has long run out of ideas. The people of Wales won't be buying it.
'After 27 years of Labour, people face long NHS waiting times, rising costs, and overstretched services. There has been no serious reckoning with that record, and no real plan to fix it – just re-announcements of things that should have been done years ago.
'There was also nothing that would shift the dial with Keir Starmer or challenge Westminster's neglect of Wales.'
