Welsh Labour rebuild a marathon not a sprint – Ken Skates

Privately, senior Welsh Labour figures at the party’s Cardiff headquarters acknowledge the party has its work cut out.

One said it needed to be rebuilt “pretty much from dust” and that “it could take years” for Welsh Labour to win back the support it lost in May.

However, there is also some optimism following Andy Burnham’s appointment as prime minister.

A separate source said that enthusiasm for knocking doors was at rock bottom in May, but that had now changed.

They also said that Skates had made “no mistakes so far”, and so, while next May will be tough, “there is a pathway to it not being an abysmal event for Welsh Labour”.

In his speech on Sunday, Skates will make the case for transferring powers within Wales.

“We didn’t create devolution just to reproduce a Welsh Westminster,” he will say.

“Our Welsh government must be strong enough to lead and redistribute and strength doesn’t have to mean central control.

“The principle is simple: Power from Westminster to Wales, power from Cardiff into our communities, power into the hands of people themselves.”

Politics Wales is on BBC1 Wales at 10:00 BST on 27 September and on iPlayer