The Welsh Labour leadership contest result, announced on Saturday 16 March, saw Vaughan Gething MS elected. He’s set to become First Minister following a vote in the Senedd later this week.
He will be only the fifth First Minister since Welsh devolution in 1999, with Wales having the lowest turnover in national leaders of any of the four UK nations, and he will follow Mark Drakeford MS who has held the role since 2018 and attained perhaps the highest public visibility of any previous First Minister.
With Wales set to soon have a new leader, it poses the question: what does this mean for universities?
Vaughan Gething has a long history of working with universities. He was President of Aberystwyth Students’ Union prior to becoming NUS Wales President in 1997, during which time he campaigned for devolution. He has maintained positive relationships with NUS Wales over the years and delivered the keynote speech at the organisation’s 40th anniversary dinner.
