20mph: Labour hopeful Vaughan Gething promises public say

The public should be able to take part in a review of the controversial 20mph speed limit policy, a Welsh Labour leadership candidate has said.

Vaughan Gething said the public needed to have the chance to comment on the exercise.

Both Mr Gething and his rival Jeremy Miles have committed to a review of how the policy has been implemented - neither would scrap it.

Mr Gething formally launched his campaign on Monday.

At his event in Newport's Tramshed Tech, the economy minister appealed to Labour members to make him the first black leader of any nation in Europe.

Labour members will decide who will replace Mark Drakeford when they vote in February and March.

Since last September, Wales' default limit in built up areas has been reduced from 30mph to 20, with councils allowed to exempt roads according to guidance set by the Welsh government.

The Welsh government has already said it would review how the policy has been put into practice, and recently Deputy Transport Minister Lee Waters confirmed that Phil Jones, a transport adviser who helped shape the 20mph policy, would also lead a review of its implementation.

That prompted criticism from opposition parties that a more independent figure was needed.

Speaking to BBC Wales, the Senedd member for Cardiff South and Penarth said: "As well as looking at the guidance, which I think is important, as well as the conversation with local government.... you've got to have a conversation with the public.

"It's about what you want to do to make sure you keep taking the public with you."

He said: "If you don't give the public the opportunity to comment on that and then to consider it before you make a further decision, I think people will say its being done to us, not with us."

He suggested councils, rather than the government, could run such an exercise, adding: "I think you can give the opportunities for local authorities to do that.

"Local authorities are going to be the decision makers on any changes that are made."

Asked if Phil Jones was the right man for the job and whether he would keep him on, Mr Gething did not answer directly.

He said: "Well, I'm still a member of the government. So I have collective responsibility, so he's doing that work.

"But this won't be finished by the time there's a new first minister in place."

Mr Gething told a hustings event last week that the party should be "humble enough" to reflect on whether it has got some things wrong on issues such as the 20mph speed limit.

He said Welsh Labour's approach to 20mph was an example of where people "want to know that you're humble enough and decent enough to listen and to reflect if you've got something wrong".

Vaughan Gething's launch speech appealed to members to make him the "first black leader in any nation in Europe".

He told the event at Newport's Tramshed Tech that he would "fully understand" the historic significance if he was to win.

"I know exactly what that would mean for black young boys and girls, across Wales. To see someone who would look like them in our highest office," he said.

"It would mean more than that too - it would mean everyone in Wales, whatever their background could see further proof that their potential can be realised here in Wales."

Mr Gething said he was the "candidate who has been tested in the eye of the storm" when he was health minister during the height of the Covid pandemic.

He said he rejected the "advances" of Matt Hancock over the troubled Test and Trace service in England, which Wales did not adopt.

He told members he wanted to see a "thriving future for Cymraeg", telling members he was learning Welsh.

Mr Gething said he would offer "leadership based on hope", promising to "make a stand for positivity", and said Labour would be part of a "battle" against the "forces of populism".

"Our task is to prevent the victory of division and hate," he said.

The candidate promised to "meet the net zero challenge and deliver a just transition", and said he was "determined that renewable energy from Wales will deliver more well paid jobs for Wales".

He said he would "prioritise speeding up the planning process for social housing" and support and empower parents "whilst we invest in and expand childcare".

Welsh Conservative Shadow Transport Minister Natasha Asghar said: "The Welsh public are rejecting this policy wholesale and want to see it reversed. Even though Vaughan's promised a review, he's still refused to scrap it. He might be making the right noises in a bid to drum up support for his leadership campaign, but the reality is he voted this through and supports it."

Plaid Cymru said: "While chronic underfunding of Wales by Westminster is partly to blame, there is no doubt that Labour is yet to make the most of the powers it holds to invest in our nation's greatest asset - its people."

Two messages stood out from today's launch.

Firstly that Mr Gething sees himself as the candidate who has proved himself in difficult circumstances: as health minister during Covid. That said, he still has to negotiate the Wales module of the UK Covid Inquiry in February and March.

Secondly, that the election of the first black leader of a nation in Europe would be a powerful message both at home and further afield.

Mr Gething was asked who should lead the 20mph review. On whether Phil Jones is the right man for the job, his answer was not a yes or a no.

He also expressed his admiration for the leader of Swansea council, which has more 20mph exemptions than any other part of Wales.