Housing Secretary move directly led to senior Labour resignation

The Housing Secretary in the Welsh Government, Julie James, was one of several ministers to quit in yesterday's dramatic day of change in Cardiff.

The political crisis culminated in the resignation of First Minister Vaughan Gething, who quit just minutes after James stepped down.

Julie James had an extensive set of responsibilities over almost all aspects of the private and social rental sectors, as well as the government’s often-controversial approach to second homes and short lets. She was also in charge of planning, local government in Wales, parks and the remnants of the coal sector, plus a national plan predicting the principality’s landscape in 2040.

In her resignation letter James refers to “serious issues” over donations to the leadership campaign of Gething who took up the role on March 20 this year, succeeding the widely-respected Mark Drakeford. 

James also highlights unspecified “never-ending series of related issues” since the start of the donation controversy, which she says “now threatens the continued existence of the devolution journey itself”.

The short reign of Gething, the first black leader of a national government in Europe, has been dogged by crises.

Many of the controversies relate to his acceptance of a £200,000 donation from a firm owned by a person previously convicted of environmental offences. More recently Gething sacked a popular cabinet minister - Hannah Blythyn - for allegedly leaking information to the website Nation.Cymru. Blythyn denies she was the source of the leak and Nation Cymru says she was not the source of its information.