Posted by 
LONDON — Mark Drakeford will leave the Senedd at the next election in 2026, the Welsh first minister has confirmed.
In a question and answer session with the Welsh parliament’s presiding officer Elin Jones, Drakeford said it is “important to have a refresh” at the top of Welsh politics.
Drakeford has served as the first minister of Wales’ devolved government and leader of the Welsh Labour Party since December 2018.
He has previously said he would quit as first minister during the current term of parliament, but on Wednesday he confirmed his plan to quit the Welsh parliament altogether. He is yet to set a date for his resignation as first minister, though he is expected to step down next year.
“I think it is difficult for those who will be doing the work in the future to have people like me sitting behind them,” Drakeford said.
“I’m not going to be a member of the Senedd after 2026 but I am not going to step back from the debate or stop thinking about Wales’ future,” he added.
A lawmaker on the left of Labour’s factional divides, Drakeford has largely continued Welsh Labour’s dominance of the nation’s devolved politics — most recently winning another term as first minister following the 2021 Senedd election, after his reputation was enhanced by his management of the coronavirus pandemic in Wales.
