It was strange to be in the Senedd in the middle of summer recess. Normally recess is a chance to recharge and take a holiday but also get out in the community more without the weekly plenary and committee sessions that tie you to the Bay. The work does not stop for summer, I can assure you.

However, we were called to the Senedd to vote for the next First Minister. Readers of the Abergavenny Chronicle will be familiar for the reasons why we are now on our third First Minister for the year. To briefly recap, Vaughan Gething won a tightly fought contest against Jeremy Miles following Mark Drakeford’s stepping down from the role. The campaign was bitter however as Gething was plagued by question marks over dodgy donations and trade union nomination stitch-ups. The rancour made for a split Labour group in the Senedd that has spent the last few months infighting.

When it became clear to Gething that he could no longer continue, he resigned and Eluned Morgan was the only candidate to subsequently put her name forward. From what I can gather, this ascendency is more to do with her being the only candidate – along with her deputy Huw Irranca-Davies – that could attempt to heal the divisions that have plagued Labour.

While it was heartening to finally see a woman at the helm of Welsh devolution after a quarter of a century, I have deep reservations over whether she is the person for the job. During her tenure as Health Minister, she has failed to make headway into tackling the deep-rooted problems in our NHS. With a number of strikes on her watch, it could be argued that things deteriorated despite the hard work and dedication of NHS staff who were only fighting for fair pay and safe working conditions.

I am also sceptical about the prospects of the new Labour First Minister fighting for financial justice for Wales when her party colleagues hold the purse strings at the UK Treasury. As a country, we have been shortchanged out of billions over the archaic Barnett funding formula and projects such as the HS2 rail link. The Labour group in the Senedd have suddenly lost their tongue now they are able to influence party colleagues over these matters. This U-turn from Labour is regrettable and deeply disappointing.

It is for these reasons that Plaid Cymru could not vote for Eluned Morgan during the vote for First Minister as we firmly believe that the only way of delivering positive change for Wales is with Plaid Cymru involved in government.