Keir Starmer joins Mark Drakeford in North Wales

LABOUR Leader Keir Starmer and First Minister Mark Drakeford will visit North Wales today (Friday) as the party seeks to build on its success in the Senedd and Police and Crime Commissioner elections.

Earlier this month, Welsh Labour saw off Tory attacks across the north and held seats in the Senedd that the party lost in Westminster in 2019. Welsh Labour also gained the North Wales PCC – boosting its ranks further.

The two leaders will visit businesses in the region to talk about the action the new Welsh Labour Government is already taking to protect jobs, deliver a world-leading vaccine rollout, and begin the most comprehensive health and education catch up programme in the history of devolution.

Ahead of the visit, Keir Starmer said: “People across Wales have put their faith in Welsh Labour and Mark Drakeford to lead Wales out of the pandemic.

“Here in North Wales, I’ve met people and businesses who valued what Welsh Labour were doing in government, and so voted for that work to continue.

“Both Mark and I are determined to get the best for these communities and ensure they have first class representatives, in the Senedd and in Parliament, to take that work forward.

“I’m looking forward to speaking to local businesses, to hear first-hand about the support Welsh Labour has given through the pandemic. And later on, thanking some of our members for all the work they did to help deliver these great results for Welsh Labour and Wales.”

Mark Drakeford said: “I am grateful to people across North Wales for their support to keep moving Wales forward.

“We have already put into action the promises we made in the election. We have immediately released more financial support for businesses to continue helping them through the pandemic. We are setting out the most comprehensive plans for recovery in our NHS and schools. And we continue to rollout the quickest vaccination programme in the world.

“As I said when I launched our manifesto, we have so much to be optimistic about in Wales. We will achieve so much together, and that work begins here in North Wales.”