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Draft:Premiership of Alun Michael

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This page is about Alun Michael's tenure as First Secretary of Wales. For the people in his administration, see Michael administration.
Premiership of Alun Michael
Official portrait, c. 1997–1998
Premiership of Alun Michael
12 May 1999 – 9 February 2000
MonarchElizabeth II
CabinetMichael administration
PartyLabour
Election1999
SeatCrickhowell House
← Position established
Rhodri Morgan →

Alun Michael's tenure as First Secretary of Wales began on 12 May 1999 when he was elected into office at the first plenary session of the National Assembly for Wales, becoming the first devolved leader of Wales, and ended almost nine months later on 9 February 2000 upon his resignation amid a political crisis and a vote of no confidence in his premiership. He also served as Secretary of State for Wales until July 1999 and as Leader of the Labour Party in Wales until his resignation as first secretary, having served in these roles since October 1998.[b]

Michael came to power after the first devolved election in May 1999, where Labour won the most seats in the National Assembly but fell short of a majority. After discussing a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, Michael chose to form a Labour minority administration. He was elected unopposed as first secretary at the first plenary session of the assembly after making a deal with the main opposition party Plaid Cymru; Plaid did not challenge Michael's nomination as first secretary in exchange for Labour not challenging Plaid's nomination for Presiding Officer of the National Assembly. Michael announced the members of his cabinet later the same day.

In the early months of his premiership, Michael was responsible for overseeing the transfer of devolved powers from the UK Government and the Welsh Office to the National Assembly. He also negotiated the delegation of decision-making functions from the assembly to the Welsh Executive and the Office of the First Secretary, and in turn the Welsh Cabinet and Welsh Civil Service. This period was also marked by close co-operation between Labour and Plaid Cymru and the fall-out from the Ron Davies affair. His administration also announced its programme for government, which was mostly a continuation of the policies of the pre-devolution Welsh Office under the Labour government in Westminster, with few new policy announcements.

From October 1999, Michael's administration faced a credibility crisis. The crisis was triggered by his reaction to a successful assembly censure motion against Agricultural Secretary Christine Gwyther and his refusal to dismiss her from his cabinet, which escalated further around the issue of European Union Objective One funding for West Wales and the South Wales Valleys and Michael's own style of leadership in the assembly.

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Background

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Devolution referendums of 1979 and 1997

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Leadership bid for the Labour Party in Wales

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Michael, in his capacity as Secretary of State for Wales, issued a statutory instrument which scheduled the first devolved election for 6 May 1999.[2]

Assembly election and government formation

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See also: 1999 National Assembly for Wales election

The 1999 National Assembly for Wales election, the first devolved election in Wales's history, was held on 6 May 1999.[3] In the election, Michael led the Labour Party in Wales to win 28 seats of the 60 available for the assembly, three seats short of its expected overall majority.[4][5] The Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru led by Dafydd Wigley denied Labour of its expected majority by making surprising gains on its traditional strongholds, winning several Labour safe seats such as Rhondda, Islwyn and Llanelli, and trebling its vote share from the 1997 general election to become the main opposition party and second largest party in the assembly with 17 seats.[3][6] The traditional main opposition party in Wales, the Conservative Party led by Nick Bourne, became the third largest party with nine seats. The Liberal Democrats led by Mike German[c] won the least seats with six and became the fourth largest party.[3][6]

As Labour failed to secure an overall majority in the assembly election, it was generally expected that Michael would attempt to negotiate a coalition deal with one of the other parties in the assembly, particularly the Liberal Democrats, like in Scotland.[8][9][10] According to the Government of Wales Act 1998, the first secretary of Wales was to be elected by members of the National Assembly.[11][12] The election of the inaugural first secretary was scheduled for the first plenary session of the assembly on 12 May; because of Labour's minority status in the assembly, it was possible although unlikely that the other parties would vote together to block Michael's election and install a first secretary from a different party. To avoid this, Michael could make a deal with one of the other parties, such as a coalition or confidence and supply agreement, to secure their support.[3] On 8 May, Michael began discussions with his own party on whether to work towards forming a coalition.[13][14] As the leader of what would become the largest party in the assembly, Michael nonetheless remained the favourite to be elected as the inaugural first secretary on 12 May.[15]

Liberal Democrat leader Mike German was keen on a coalition with Labour and offered to enter into coalition negotations with Michael. He rejected German's offer and chose to head a minority administration instead.

According to BBC News, Michael's most likely option was to form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats,[14] a course of action which was favoured by UK Labour leader Tony Blair.[16] Alternatively, he could risk governing alone in a minority administration.[14][3] Michael and Mike German had already led their parties into a coalition on Cardiff City Council some years earlier and had remained on good terms.[17][13] German, keen to form a coalition with Labour, offered to enter into coalition negotiations with Michael, and said that he would accept a coalition on the condition that Labour agreed to a written power sharing agreement, cutting primary school class sizes to under 30 and cutting healthcare waiting times to under six months.[17][18][19] Michael rejected his offer to negotiate.[19] Plaid Cymru ruled out a deal of any kind with Labour, though Dafydd Wigley did promise cooperation on certain issues where there was agreement between the two parties.[20] Wigley was more focused on who would become Presiding Officer of the National Assembly, the second most senior role in the assembly equivalent to a parliamentary speaker, rather than the position of first secretary, and voiced his support for Plaid Cymru's Dafydd Elis-Thomas to take the role. He said that Plaid Cymru's potential support of Michael's election as first secretary would depend on Labour's vision for the National Assembly.[5] Any deal between Labour and the Conservatives, the two main traditional rivals in British politics, was out of the question.[3][8][18]

On 11 May, Michael publicly ruled out a coalition and announced his plan to form a minority administration.[21] He said his administration would be committed to developing a new "inclusive" and "open" approach to politics, as opposed to the adversarial politics of the Westminster system,[22] with his administration working closely with the other parties in the assembly to find consensus on each issue that arose.[23][8] Michael said he did not form a coalition because it "would have been inclusive of one party and exclusive of the others" when the new assembly had to, in his view, foster trust and cooperation between all the different parties.[21] It is also believed that Michael concluded that the three other parties in the assembly would not be able to find enough common-ground to vote against Labour and form an alternative programme for government.[6][8] Michael's decision was disapproved of by Mike German and the Liberal Democrats, who argued that a minority administration would not provide the stability required of a devolved government for Wales. The Liberal Democrats also signalled that they would abstain during the election of a first secretary on 12 May.[21] Dafydd Wigley and Plaid Cymru supported a consensual approach in the assembly and welcomed Michael's decision, believing that a minority administration would give them greater influence. Wigley also announced that his party would not oppose Michael's election as first secretary on 12 May.[16][23][21] It was claimed that Plaid Cymru agreed to support Michael's election as first secretary in exchange for Labour allowing the election of Dafydd Elis-Thomas as Presiding Officer, although Wigley denied this.[6][23]

As first secretary, Michael had an office at Crickhowell House, now known as Tŷ Hywel. The main office of the first minister of Wales remains at Tŷ Hywel in the present day.

On 12 May the National Assembly for Wales sat for the first time.[22][24] At its first plenary session, Dafydd Elis-Thomas was elected unopposed as Presiding Officer of the National Assembly and Alun Michael was elected unopposed as First Secretary of Wales to form a minority administration.[25][26][24] Michael was nominated for the post by Labour assembly member (AM) Rhodri Morgan, who had unsuccessfully challenged Michael for the Labour leadership in Wales earlier that year,[22] and his nomination was seconded by Labour AM Ann Jones.[27] Michael delivered his acceptance speech in English and Welsh.[28] In it, he stressed the importance of the new consensual approach to politics which he had promised for the assembly, telling members that the structures of the new assembly had been designed "to build consensus".[29] Michael's election made him the inaugural first secretary of Wales.[30][31] He would remain in office until 9 February 2000, a total of 273 days or just under nine months, making him the shortest-serving first minister[d] in Welsh history.[32]

As first secretary, Michael was not entitled to an official residence.[33] Attempts to designate an official residence in the Pierhead Building were rejected early in the post's history.[34] Michael did however have an office at Crickhowell House, now known as Tŷ Hywel, which would be inherited by his successor Rhodri Morgan.[35] The main office of the first minister of Wales remains at Tŷ Hywel in the present day.[34] As first secretary, Michael was also entitled to other privilleges, including a chauffeur and an official salary of £97,000.[36]

Administration

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Cabinet

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See also: Michael administration

The Government of Wales Act 1998 provided for the appointment of assembly secretaries, devolved government ministers who were appointed by the first secretary. The first secretary and his assembly secretaries formed the Executive Committee of the National Assembly, otherwise known as the cabinet.[11][12] Michael announced his cabinet, the first devolved cabinet of Wales,[37] in his first business statement to the assembly, which was delivered on the same day as his election as first secretary.[28] The cabinet had eight members besides Michael, and all of them were assembly members from the Labour Party.[38] Michael appointed Rhodri Morgan as Secretary for Economic Development and European Affairs, Andrew Davies as Chief Whip and Business Manager for the National Assembly, Edwina Hart as Secretary for Finance, Jane Hutt as Secretary for Health and Social Services, Christine Gwyther as Secretary for Agriculture and the Rural Economy, Peter Law as Secretary for Environment, Local Government and Planning, Tom Middlehurst as Secretary for Post 16 Education and Training and Rosemary Butler as Secretary for Education – Children and Young Persons to 16 Years of Age.[27][6][28] Morgan acted as Michael's unofficial deputy.[39][40][3]

Michael found it difficult to appoint his cabinet.[6] He tried to construct a cabinet which was more widely representative than those traditionally seen in Westminster, with a balance in gender, experience and geographic representation.[41][42] However, his choices when appointing people to the cabinet were limited, as Labour's disappointing performance in the National Assembly election, paired with the fact that most of the skilled Labour politicians in Wales chose to remain in Parliament than join the assembly, left him with a reduced pool of talent and experience to choose from.[43][6][41] It was originally assumed for instance that Wayne David, Labour's election candidate for Rhondda and its former MEP for South Wales Central, would join the cabinet, but he failed to win a seat in the assembly.[6] Another experienced politician planned for a role in the cabinet was Ron Davies, Michael's predecessor as Labour leader and secretary of state for Wales.[44][28][45] His name was still on Michael's draft list for cabinet appointments in the days following the assembly election.[46] However, he was persuaded against bringing Davies into the cabinet at the last minute, when Rhodri Morgan insisted that his poor reputation following his incident on Clapham Common would harm devolution.[3][40] Other people noted for their exclusion from the cabinet included Jane Davidson and radical devolutionists Carwyn Jones, Sue Essex and Val Field.[6]

On gender, Michael appointed four women to his cabinet. At the time, Welsh politics had been traditionally dominated by men.[47] Michael supported feminist efforts to increase the number of women in the cabinet and assembly, a policy which was continued by his successor Rhodri Morgan, and a gender balance in the cabinet would be achieved under Morgan in 2000.[48][49] The cabinet was more imbalanced on geographic representation. While there were cabinet members from all the regions of Wales, there was an apparent bias which favoured the South of the country over the North; only one member, Tom Middlehurst, represented a seat in North Wales while most other members of the cabinet represented seats in South Wales.[50] Only two members of the cabinet, Michael and Morgan, were fluent in Welsh.[43] The fact that Tom Middlehurst, whose portfolio included Welsh language policy, could not understand the language provided a source of controversy, though he did attempt to learn it.[51][10] Controversy also emerged from the appointment of Christine Gwyther, a vegetarian, as agriculture secretary. Some found it inappropriate for a vegetarian to serve in the role, as the agriculture industry in Wales was primarily based on meat production.[52][10]

There were two other notable imbalances in Michael's cabinet. The first concerned the functioning of the cabinet, particularly Michael's leadership style and the inexperience of its other members. Michael eschewed the primus inter pares model of cabinet government and consolidated internal power into his own hands.[41] Reluctant to delegate decisions to its other members, he micro-managed the cabinet, taking control over all ministerial decisions.[53][41][54] He often represented his secretaries in assembly debates and kept them uninformed of government policies, making key decisions on their behalf, even if the policy in question fell under the remit of their portfolios.[6][53] Commenting on this authoritative approach, academics Kevin Morgan and ‎Geoff Mungham said Michael had an "anally retentive management style".[53] A factor which contributed to Michael's controlling style of leadership was the general inexperience of the rest of the cabinet. Michael was the only cabinet member with prior ministerial experience, and only he and Rhodri Morgan could be characterised as front-line politicians.[41][6] The lack of experience in the cabinet was not initially considered an issue, however, as the National Assembly would not receive any actual powers until July.[43]

The second notable imbalance in Michael's cabinet came from his decision to appoint two education secretaries. This had the knock-off effect of doubling the responsibilities of other cabinet members due to the limited number of secretaries who could be appointed to the cabinet, as exemplified by the creation of a combined environment, local government and planning brief.[41] It also led to uncertainty around the policy briefs of the two education secretaries, leading to an overlap in responsibilities, and also resulted in the creation of two assembly committees for education, also with overlapping responsibilities.[6][41]

Transition of power

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Political crisis

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Aftermath and legacy

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When asked in 2008 if he would intervene in Boris Johnson's devolved mayoralty of London, UK Conservative leader David Cameron said the "disaster" of Blair's intervention in Michael's premiership had taught him not to intervene in the devolved decision-making of his own party.[55][56]

According to Welsh academic Richard Rawlings, the "greatest legacy" of Michael's premiership was to enable the strong drive toward establishing a parliament for Wales in the years which followed.

References

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  1. ^ The Royal Badge as augmented in 1953. Although the National Assembly did not have an official badge until 2008, the augmented badge from 1953 was used by the National Assembly, the first secretary, and members of the devolved assembly government from 1999 onwards.[1]
  2. ^ Michael led the Labour Party in Wales as its acting leader until February 1999, when he was formally elected to the leadership.
  3. ^ The leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats at the time was Richard Livsey. Mike German had been elected the leader-designate of the Liberal Democrat group in the National Assembly in 1998, and so therefore he led the party's assembly campaign and acted as its de facto leader in Wales.[7]
  4. ^ The position of First Secretary of Wales was renamed First Minister of Wales under Michael's successor Rhodri Morgan.
  1. ^ Antoniw, Mick (28 June 2022). "Written Question 85557: Answered by Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution (Mick Antoniw MS)". Senedd Cymru-Welsh Parliament. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  2. ^ Michael, Alun (9 March 1999). "STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS 1999 No. 722. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW. DEVOLUTION, WALES. REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE. The National Assembly for Wales (Day of First Ordinary Election) (Postponement of Community Councils Elections etc.) Order 1999". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Jones, James Barry; Balsom, Denis (2000). The Road to the National Assembly for Wales. University of Wales Press. pp. 198, 212. ISBN 978-0-7083-1492-0. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  4. ^ Guardian staff and agencies (7 May 1999). "Labour falls short of overall majority in Wales". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Who will get Wales's top job?". BBC News. 8 May 1999. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
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  7. ^ Bowen, Eric J. (November–December 1998). "An American View of Wales: The 'Land, Language, Freedom' Movement, 1987–1997". Bro Nevez: Newsletter of the U.S. Branch of the International Committee for the Defense of the Breton Language. 11 (65–76). International Committee for the Defense of the Breton Language: 27–28. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
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  28. ^ a b c d Guardian staff and agencies (12 May 1999). "No place in Welsh Cabinet for Ron Davies". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  29. ^ Speed, Nick (June 1999). "No plain sailing in Cardiff Bay". The Parliamentary Monitor. Vol. 7, no. 6–10. p. 10. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
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  32. ^ "Alun Michael no longer shortest serving First Minister after Northern Ireland FM steps down". Nation.Cymru. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  33. ^ Deans, David (26 July 2021). "Mark Drakeford: Why doesn't Wales' first minister have a residence?". BBC News. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  34. ^ a b Deacon, Russell (20 December 2017). Government and Politics of Wales. Edinburgh University Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-7486-9974-2.
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  36. ^ Gibbs, Geoffrey (10 February 2000). "A bombshell, then oblivion for Alun Michael". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  37. ^ Assinder, Nick (12 May 1999). "Davies: Author of his own downfall". BBC News. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  38. ^ Academi Gymreig (2008). "The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales". University of Wales Press. p. 592. ISBN 9780708319536. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  39. ^ Leys, Colin (17 July 2003). Market-Driven Politics: Neoliberal Democracy and the Public Interest. Verso. p. 238. ISBN 978-1-85984-497-7. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  40. ^ a b Morgan, Rhodri (15 September 2017). Rhodri: A Political Life in Wales and Westminster. University of Wales Press. pp. 160–161. ISBN 978-1-78683-148-4. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  41. ^ a b c d e f g Rawlings, Richard (2003). Delineating Wales: Constitutional, Legal and Administrative Aspects of National Devolution. University of Wales Press. pp. 99–100. ISBN 978-0-7083-1739-6. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  42. ^ Heath, Tony (12 May 1999). "The New Britain - Welsh Assembly: Ron Davies left out in cold as Michael elected leader". The Independent. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  43. ^ a b c "Welsh name-calling". The Economist. 27 May 1997. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  44. ^ Gibbs, Geoffrey; White, Michael (10 May 1999). "Labour prepares for minority rule in Wales". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  45. ^ "Davies snubbed by Michael". BBC News. 12 May 1999. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  46. ^ Hannan, Patrick (2000). Wales Off Message: From Clapham Common to Cardiff Bay. Seren. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-85411-293-4. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  47. ^ Hartley-Brewer, Julia (23 February 2000). "Women take lead in Welsh cabinet posts". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  48. ^ Campbell, Beatrix (11 October 2003). "The revolution betrayed". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  49. ^ Osmond, John (November 2009). Critical Mass:The Impact and Future of Female Representation in the National Assembly for Wales (PDF). Institute of Welsh Affairs. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-904773-47-4. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  50. ^ "Middlehurst to make parliament 'relevant'". Flint and Holywell Chronicle. 14 May 1999. pp. 12, 15. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  51. ^ "People in the Assembly: Tom Middlehurst". BBC News. 1 September 1999. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  52. ^ Bory, Stéphanie (2010). "From Margaret Thatcher, a woman of power, to Jane Davidson, a woman in power: women's position in the National Assembly for Wales". Femmes, conflits et pouvoir [Women, Conflict and Power]. 27 (27): 191–201. doi:10.4000/caliban.2125. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  53. ^ a b c Morrison, John (2001). Reforming Britain: New Labour, New Constitution. Pearson Education. p. 96. ISBN 978-1-903684-03-0. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  54. ^ Williams, Jane (15 June 2022). The Impact of Devolution in Wales: Social Democracy with a Welsh Stripe?. University of Wales Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-78683-887-2. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  55. ^ Sparrow, Andrew (6 May 2008). "David Cameron press conference roundup". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  56. ^ "Cameron learns 'Alun Michael lesson'". WalesOnline. 6 May 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
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