The race to be the new leader of Welsh Labour and Wales' new first minister is on. In the third in a series of features, IAN CRAIG speaks to candidate Eluned Morgan about some of the key issues facing Gwent and Wales as a whole.

What is your position on the M4 relief road?

We've got to wait until the inquiry report comes forward.

I will stand by the Labour Party policy, which is that we do need to have a relief road - the current situation is unsustainable.

But if we do develop the road I think we need to toll it, because it's a massively expensive new structure and I believe in the principle that the polluter should pay.

I also believe that, by the time the road is built, we will have very new technology which will be able to read numberplates so you won't have to stop, there'll be people in automated vehicles.

What I am clear about is the current situation is unsustainable. We need a new road.

It is too high a risk to do nothing.

What is your position on Brexit? Do you support a so-called people's vote? Or do you want a second referendum?

I spent 15 years in the European Parliament, I am a passionate European, I was devastated when people in Wales voted for Brexit and I am very keen to see a people's vote.

I think people were misled in the first vote and they were promised things which will not be delivered, and there should be a vote on the final deal.

And I would like to see an option on the paper of staying in the EU, because that is the best possible outcome for Wales.

My concern is always with the poorest and the most vulnerable and they are the ones who are going to be hit the hardest as a result of a hard Brexit.

I would like to see the option of not leaving at all on the table because that is the best option.

The suggestion that is coming forward at the moment is a suggestion that means we would have to comply with all the rules of access to the market, but we would have no say over them - I think that is actually a diminution of our sovereignty rather than an increase in our sovereignty.

There's lots of work to be done on all of it.

But I think almost everyone thinks a no deal scenario is the worst possible situation of all.

We know that would wipe 10 per cent off the wealth of Wales and cause massive economic problems and cause unemployment in Wales, so I think most people would want to avoid that, so the option should be whatever they come back with from Brussels, and remaining in the EU.

I hope we don't leave.

But if we do then I think I am in a very strong position to help mitigate the worst problems of that.

Council reform, including whether to force local authorities in Wales to merge, is an issue which has occupied Welsh politics for a number of years now. What would your approach be as first minister?

We have to build a better relationship with local government, that's the first point.

We need a respect agenda.

I am very proud to have (Newport council leader) Debbie Wilcox as part of my campaign team to become first minister.

I would hope I could actually engender a new relationship with local government, one of mutual respect.

I don't think we can impose things on local government without ensuring there is consent with them.

But I think we are getting to the point now with austerity and the impact on services where there is an understanding that sometimes a more collaborative model is something which will need to be further explored, but that is not something we can do without consent.

I don't think we can do reform without local government agreeing to that reform.

How will your leadership as first minister be different from that of Carwyn Jones?

It would be different because I have not been part of the establishment here for a long time. I have only been in the Assembly for two years.

I haven't been sucked into a particular way of working.

I think what's needed here is a refreshed approach, something different. We have been in power for nearly 20 years and people are looking for something different.

What I bring is a broad range of experience from elsewhere.

I've got experience from the European Parliament, I've got experience from the front bench of the House of Lords, I've got experience working in industry, I've got experience working in the media.

But I don't think I would feel restricted by the conventions of the past - that is one of the things I could bring renewal while we are in government.

It would look different, it would sound different, it would be different.

I think we should be very proud of what Labour has achieved over the past 20 years, but I think we need a change in direction because of new challenges, because of Brexit, because of the ageing population, because of climate change, because of automation and digitisation, because of challenges of obesity and mental health issues.

Those are all issues which are not at the forefront over the past 20 years which have now come to the front. What I would like to do is to really look to the future to create a Wales that is confident in the new digital economy.

(Mark Drakeford and Vaughan Gething) have had every opportunity to influence the direction of government policy which I don't feel I have yet, and that's what I would like to do.

I think that will definitely be a message which will resonate with the public.

The question is whether it will resonate with the party membership.

So you've got to remember the decision makers here are party members and the question is, to what extent would they like to see continuity, more of the same, or a fresh approach. There is a clear decision to be made there.

I think if you ask the wider public they would like to see change.

There is definitely a sense of momentum building with my campaign.

I had difficulty getting onto the ballot in the first place, but that has stimulated an interest that perhaps may not have been there.

The fact people were so encouraged and enthused that Carwyn Jones allowed me to go on the ballot, there was an eruption of support in the Labour Party conference.

The grassroots support beyond the bubble of Cardiff Bay and that is something I have been trying to emphasise - you've got to get away from politicians talking to politicians.

We've got to go and listen to the public and party members who don't turn up to meetings, because they've all got a very valid option and a contribution to make.

If there is one thing you could achieve as first minister what would it be?

I would wrench Wales out of poverty, number one.

I think we need to get to a point where the people of Wales can be proud, where we can have confidence in ourselves, where we believe in ourselves and we believe we can achieve as much as anyone else in the world and that we can drive our economy and make sure people have a better standard of living as a result of increased prosperity.

Upskilling, infrastructure development, making sure we look to the future with digital skills, but I also want to introduce a national care service for Wales - that is the other priority I would have.

I'd like to, in the same way as Aneurin Bevan led the way in setting up the NHS for Wales, I'd like to see if Wales can again lead the way by setting up a national care service.

ELUNED MORGAN FACT FILE

  • Born and raised in the Ely area of Cardiff, she worked in television before working for the European Parliament - an institution she was later elected to as MEP for Mid and West Wales in 1994.
  • At 27 years old when she was elected, she was at the time the youngest MEP in the European Parliament.
  • Serving for 15 years, she stood down in 2009, and the following year was given a life peerage, as Baroness Morgan of Ely.
  • In 2016 she was elected as AM for Mid and West Wales, and in November last year was made minister for the Welsh language and lifelong learning.
  • After struggling to achieve the necessary five nominations to make it onto the ballot paper, leader hopefuls Alun Davies and Huw Irranca-Davies withdrew from the race to lend them her support.
  • First minister Carwyn Jones provided the fifth nomination.