I would like to personally congratulate Eluned Morgan on her successful nomination as the leader of Welsh Labour, it would be a fantastic achievement to be the first female First Leader and I am delighted to see another woman leading the way in Welsh politics, writes Jane Dodds MS.

For far too long now it has felt as though the political sphere, both in Wales and UK-wide, remains a gentleman’s only club. With opportunities for up-and-coming female politicians to break the mould seemingly coming far and few between.

Before last week, I was the only female leader of a political party here in Wales, and one of a small handful of female party leaders in the UK. So, I am very happy to welcome Eluned to what will hopefully be a growing club.

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However, I am afraid that my compliments to Eluned will end here, as she will now have the unenviable task of reuniting a fractured Labour party that desperately needs to win back the trust of the Welsh people.

The scandals that followed her predecessor will unfortunately still linger around her, as there will be no affordable legroom for a clean slate.

Considering the controversy that surrounded Vaughan Gething in the fleeting moments of his time as First Minister, it was never going to be a surprise that the role of Welsh Labour leader and First Minister, would fall to someone else sooner rather than later.

The last few months of Welsh Labour scandals and in-fighting has been an unhelpful distraction from resolving the challenges facing Wales.

Unfortunately, these recent events have undoubtedly undermined trust in Welsh politics. Welsh Labour must realise that they can no longer take the Welsh electorate for granted, trust must be earned.

It is now up to both Eluned and Welsh Labour to re-earn the trust of both the Senedd and, most importantly, the people of Wales.

I will be pushing the new Welsh government to ensure that everyone can get access to an NHS doctor, GP or dentist when and where they need one.

I will also be fighting to expand the Welsh childcare offer to support working parents, tackling child poverty, and addressing the concerns of rural communities.

We as the Welsh Liberal Democrats will also continue to call for a £10,000 cap on individual political donations, an important first step towards cleaning up our politics.