Last week, Eluned Morgan MS, the new First Minister for Wales announced her interim Welsh Government Cabinet, appointing former Senedd lawyer Elisabeth Jones as the Counsel General Designate.
Unlike the last three appointments to the post (Mick Antoniw MS, Jeremy Miles MS and Vaughan Gething MS), the new Counsel General Designate is not an elected member of the Senedd. The Law Society has called for ‘a return to political Counsel General’ in September 2024.
Jonathan Davies, Head of Wales for The Law Society noted that:
“Whilst Elisabeth Jones is both a skilled and highly capable legal professional, the appointment of a Counsel General that is not an elected Senedd member is a retrograde step that presents a real risk of loss of political focus around the justice agenda in Wales.
“We understand that the First Minister will be reshuffling the Cabinet in September and our members across Wales have been very clear in their desire to see a return to a Senedd Member as Counsel General, operating at cabinet level, when the expected reshuffle takes place in September.”
Elisabeth Jones was previously the Senedd’s chief legal adviser.
