Vaughan Gething: How will Welsh Labor change under his leadership?

At a Welsh Labor leadership results event, party activists could barely complete a sentence when the two words “general election” and “election” were thrown out in quick succession.

The gathering, held at Cardiff University, was informal and relatively low-key, with the feel of a weekend coffee morning.

This drink was available from flasks on tables, and aspirants and their supporters were able to mingle freely.

Gething’s wife Michelle and 9-year-old son Isaac were happily chatting with reporters. Isaac was deftly clutching his book “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” in case his father’s work took a little longer on Saturday.

Gething senior is a generational and expressive leap forward from his predecessor, Mark Drakeford.

Labour’s new leader is enjoying public appearances here and seems determined to present himself with more punch.

He says he wants to see “confidence” in Wales’ self-expression.

And indeed, his sophisticated rhetoric stands in sharp contrast to the studious and former academic Mr. Drakeford.

Within minutes of the victory, Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer called Mr Gething.

Both men are aware that Labour’s long-standing government record in Wales will come under further scrutiny ahead of polling day.

And as with all long reign records, there’s a lot that critics can take away from it.

What will be interesting next will be how the Welsh Labor Party reacts to Mr Gething as its new leader.

This weekend there was a lot of talk about “working families.” But the moment after the announcement felt like a pretty awkward situation.

The loser of the vote, Education Minister Jeremy Miles, did not publicly congratulate his rival and walked past our reporters asking for a word. He walked out the back door pretty sharply.

Miles later managed to type the words “Congratulations Vaughan” on social media, but in the same post he said rather pointedly that in politics “trust must be continually earned”.

This sounds more like a rant in the biggest flashpoint of a leadership battle.

Mr Gething found himself struggling to escape questions about a £200,000 donation he received from a company owned by a man twice convicted of environmental crimes.

And he had just won, even though his campaign had a lot of cash. Gething told me that donations are an “integral part of modern politics.”

Finally, after all this, there is a bigger question worth pondering.

Politics clearly reflects society’s concerns and hopes and expresses them in a variety of ways.

And within days we will have Wales’ first black minister and a British Prime Minister of Asian Hindu descent.

Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf, a British Muslim of Asian descent. Then there’s Michelle O’Neill, the Catholic Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.

The biographies of these leaders, as well as their extensive discussions, are all portraits of modern Britain.