The 2009
Welsh Labour
Welsh Labour ( cy, Llafur Cymru) is the branch of the United Kingdom Labour Party in Wales and the largest party in modern Welsh politics. Welsh Labour and its forebears won a plurality of the Welsh vote at every UK general election since 192 ...
leadership election was held following the resignation of
Rhodri Morgan
Hywel Rhodri Morgan (29 September 1939 – 17 May 2017) was a Welsh Labour politician who was the First Minister of Wales and the Leader of Welsh Labour from 2000 to 2009. He was also the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011 and ...
, who stepped down after nine years as
First Minister of Wales
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. Morgan had made clear his intent to resign in 2009 as far back as 2005. As Morgan had been elected unopposed in 2000, this was the first contested election for the Welsh Labour leadership for more than a decade.
The contest concluded on 1 December 2009 and was won on the first round by
Carwyn Jones
Carwyn Howell Jones (born 21 March 1967) is a Welsh politician who served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour from 2009 to 2018. He served as Counsel General for Wales from 2007 to 2009. Jones served as the Member of the Se ...
who won in all three sections of the ballot.
As Welsh Labour was the senior partner in a
Labour/Plaid Cymru coalition government, Jones was confirmed as First Minister the following week assumed office as First Minister on 10 December 2009. Both Edwina Hart and Huw Lewis served in Jones' governments until their retirement in 2016.
Under Jones, Labour would go on to take office alone as a minority government following the
2011 Assembly election, and retain office following the
2016 Assembly election
Sixteen or 16 may refer to:
*16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17
*one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016
Films
* ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film
* ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film dir ...
.
Jones stood down in late 2018, triggering a
new election.
Voting system
The election was conducted under an
Electoral College system in which Labour Party members, affiliated trade union members and Welsh Labour elected officials all held an equal share of the votes.
Candidates
To stand, candidates needed the support of a minimum of six
(out of a possible 24) including themselves of Labour's Assembly Members.
Three candidates -
Counsel General Carwyn Jones
Carwyn Howell Jones (born 21 March 1967) is a Welsh politician who served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour from 2009 to 2018. He served as Counsel General for Wales from 2007 to 2009. Jones served as the Member of the Se ...
, Health Minister
and
Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney AM Huw Lewis
Huw Lewis (born 17 January 1964) is a Welsh Labour Co-operative politician who served as Minister for Education and Skills from 2013 to 2016. Born in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan, Lewis represented the Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney constituency in ...
- entered the race.
The following were reported as endorsements by the BBC at the close on nominations on 22 October 2009:
Derek Vaughan
Derek Vaughan is a Welsh Labour politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Wales between 2009 and 2019.
Early life and career
Vaughan was born in Merthyr Tydfil, first studying at Afon Taf High School before worki ...
MEP supported Carwyn Jones.
Results
See also
*
2018 Welsh Labour Party deputy leadership election
References
{{UK Labour Party
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
2009 in Wales
Welsh Labour leadership election