Has Labour found its Margaret?

As an interested observer of the race to succeed Rhodri Morgan as Labour leader and First Minister I have for some time assumed that Edwina Hart would be a runner.

The announcement of support by Andrew Davies was confirmation that the presumed Carwyn Jones v Huw Lewis battle was about to get a new protagonist. For the first time in 30 years since the election of Margaret Thatcher it is possible that a national government could be led by a female politician.

Having shadowed Edwina from the opposition benches until February I have witnessed her work both in public and private. In addition to being hard working she is capable of building cross party working relationships, taken some bold decisions, and has on more than one occasi0n happily ignored her officials to do as she pleases, demonstrating a rather unpredictable nature.

Once, during a rather public spat about the performance of the Cardiff & Vale NHS Trust, I referred to her as Boudica on a bad hair day! There have been some occasions where this description is apt. Whether you would regard her sometimes erratic decision making process as risky for someone who might become First Minister, or just part of her character which people respect, is hard to judge and probably a matter of personal opinion.

Either way, it is possible that the Welsh Labour Party might have found their Margaret.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 1st, 2009 at 11:08 am and is filed under Senedd Shorts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

4 Responses to “Has Labour found its Margaret?”

  1. Simon Dyda Says:
    October 1st, 2009 at 11:18 am

    Edwina, the Tories’ choice. I’m, not sure she’ll thank you for that!

  2. Sarastro Says:
    October 1st, 2009 at 11:19 am

    I’m not quite sure that the Labour Party in Wales will like this analogy one little bit, even though it was intended (I am sure!) as a compliment, which indeed it is.

    Could we have found the Great She Elephant, the Catherine the Great of Gower? :)

    S

  3. valleysmam Says:
    October 1st, 2009 at 7:25 pm

    Thatcher had political perspective and communicated,EH is introvert , not half as astute and doesn’t know when she should put Wales ahead of Swansea

  4. Crashing the party | WalesHome.org Says:
    October 3rd, 2009 at 11:32 am

    [...] party, it can cause problems for the endorsed. WalesHome.org contributor Jonathan Morgan AM’s endorsement of Edwina Hart as a Welsh Margaret Thatcher could hardly have been part of her battle plan. Likewise, the backing of an urbane north Wales [...]