Serving as the Labour Party’s first female Secretary of State for Wales for the last two years has been a privilege and an honour.
The essence of the Wales Office is collaboration. I am proud to have worked with colleagues across cabinet over the past two years to ensure the priorities of the people in my constituency of Cardiff East and throughout Wales have not just been heard but delivered. As Welsh Secretary, my priorities were always to drive public and private investment into Wales, create jobs and opportunities and put real power in the hands of Welsh communities.
Wales has seen the biggest budget settlement for our public services in the history of devolution, our steel industry saved and transformed for the future, the largest public investment in Wales in history through new nuclear at Wylfa, a generational commitment of £14bn for our Welsh railways, the best local growth fund settlement of any of the UK nations and so much more.
These successes have been driven through the work of the Wales Office and I want to thank the entire team for their hard work and support in getting these and many more achievements over the line – the benefits to Wales will be felt for generations to come.
I am equally proud of what the whole UK Labour Government has achieved in these first two years. Together we have stabilised the economy, ended Tory austerity, lifted 550,000 children out of poverty, introduced the biggest uplift to workers’ rights in a generation and created new jobs and opportunities in every corner of the country.
I wish the new Prime Minister and my successor the very best in their new roles and know that they will do a great job, alongside our new Welsh Labour leader Ken Skates, in delivering for the people of Wales.
Finally, I want to pay tribute to Keir Starmer. In just six years he has taken our party from comprehensive rejection by the country, through to the greatest general election victory in my lifetime and two years successfully leading our country through enormously challenging circumstances.
Keir leaves with the country in a much better place than he found it. A committed public servant, always putting the country first, who has led with courage and strength, restoring the UK’s reputation and influence globally. I am proud to have served under him, and to call him my friend.