Rhodri Morgan: A Tribute

Silence spoke volumes today, as Wales and the world of politics paid

tribute to Rhodri Morgan, who died yesterday. The former First Minister

was regarded as the father of devolution in Wales. He was a very

exceptional human being, in all his exceptional capabilities. He had a

real, strong sense of normality. It's one of the things that made him

a great leader. A huge intellect but a man of the people, whether it was

in the pub or the president of imagination, he treated everybody

the same, and the kind of Ricci and, most politicians dream of. It wasn't

all about politics. Politics was his life, no question, but his passion

was bought. He was very witty and it was his depth of knowledge that

mesmerised you. A politician who did things his own way. He was genuine

and authentic and that's what people loved about him.

# Everyone knows that I'm just second-hand rose, from Second

Avenue... And amiable, affable, amusing man devoted to his family

and to politics. Eight years ago, Rhodri allowed me to film him over a

year as his life in front line politics drew to a close. How are

we? Not too bad. Rhodri Morgan was born in Cardiff in

1939. His father was an academic and MP's agent. His mother was a

teacher. His elder brother, Prys, remembered when Rhodri began to get

a taste for politics. I recall very clearly 1951, when you were about

11, that you drag us all to the church rooms in Radyr on more than

one occasion to listen to the political speeches of that election,

and you became extremely angry... Yes. That the Tories of Radyr were

so impolite and beastly. Yes, it was a very dramatic introduction to a

political meeting. If I ever bought a political meeting would be some

quiet sort of proceedings of the Aristotelians society discussing our

climb paint, -- arcane points, it wasn't like that, it was a mob.

Rhodri Morgan went to Whitchurch Grammar School, studied politics at

Oxford and and went to Harvard. I had a flat with some others when I

was in university and upturned this is why headed Wedgewood who had just

arrived from Harvard. -- and up turned this is why headed chap. He

was full of brilliant ideas, because Rhodri was very, very bright and he

was also brave. He had this marvellous combination, right from

the time he was a youngster, of feet on the ground realism, but a sense

of vision, of real imagination, colourful imagination. He married

Julie, who also went on to be a politician. He met his wife at a

party in our flat, Julie. She turned up with some friends and they took

to each other pretty quickly. Julie and Rhodri, I think, I didn't know a

couple who were so well matched with each other, you know? Very close

couple, they were. And Rhodri and Julie, I think, well, they share the

same beliefs. I've seen them together, they get on so well. They

worked well together. Rhodri was always so supportive of Julie when

she was campaigning to get re-elected. And she was also very

supportive of Rhodri. He didn't become an elected politician until

1987, winning the seat of Cardiff West. Whether it was in the pub or

whether it was the president of a major nation, he treated everybody

the same, and he always tried to help people, and that's why he was a

fabulous MP and AM as well as a politician, and also he didn't take

everything seriously. He dealt with issues with great humour, with

colourful language, and I think all politicians could learn something

from Rhodri about being a little bit more free range and a little bit

less control freak career. When I first met Rhodri in the 80s when he

was elected as the member for Cardiff West, he used to make very

witty speeches about flooding and he said he would like in future if

there wasn't better water protection for his constituency, he'd need to

wear a wet suit. A strong socialist, his comradeship bridged the

political divide. He was very respected and in the early days

certain people in his own party, especially in London, couldn't

understand him, couldn't understand the type of character he was, but

because he had those deep democratic instincts, which I think it's quite

a Welsh thing, and the adherence to socialist principles as part of

democracy, that is something he had, and he treated everybody equally,

even Her Majesty the Queen, when she met him. She was always impressed by

his great intellect and great knowledge. And that was something

that people respected, so he was very clever as a human being, but

the most sociable person you could speak to in the pub or anywhere, and

that was the secret of his huge success as a politician. Rhodri's

passion for politics was matched by his enthusiasm for sport. I saw my

first international match here in the old Cardiff Arms Park at the

millennium stadium almost 60 years ago. It was early December, 1948

Trevor Alan, the Wallabies touring team, Cardiff beat them, Wales beat

them and the Barbarians beat them, all magnificent games of rugby, and

it gave me a love of taking every opportunity to come and see the guys

in the red shirts playing. Politics was his life, no question, but his

passion was sport. A great supporter of Welsh rugby. He enjoyed watching

it and possibly what annoyed most politicians that he spoke to, they

knew -- he knew so much more than anybody else. We've got it! We've

got it! No, we haven't. They've pinched it again. Have they? Yes!

Whenever he was down at Cardiff Arms Park, which he enjoyed going to,

taking his grandsons, there would be no fuss. He would like to be on the

terrace, enjoying the environment, which he had as a young man, as a

child himself, you know. He was great to have a conversation with.

He was very, very witty and it was his depth of knowledge that

mesmerised you, virtually, in the end. Rhodri Morgan had a way of

winning hearts and minds, that it was his way with words that often

made headlines, including one of his memorable Newsnight appearances.

Rhodri Morgan, will you run again for leadership of the Welsh Labour

Party? Do temp -- to one-legged ducks ducks swim in a circle? We

were told we will be on at 10:30pm and Rhodri was very keen to have a

pint in the teeth clock up next to the studios before 11pm, and we got

held on the line and I could see him getting frustrated, so I think the

terse answer he gave to Jeremy Paxman was partly because he was

dying for a quick pint before chucking out time. In 2000, a year

after the referendum on devolution, he finally got his wish, becoming

leader of the Labour Party in Wales, and with it the job of First

Minister. He'd been overlooked twice for the job by Prime Minister Tony

Blair. Only Tony Blair knows why he didn't put me in the ministerial

team with Ron Davies back in 97, or give me another junior ministerial

job, but he said it was one of the worst mistakes he had made later on,

which was very noble of him. An extraordinary admission, in a way,

when you consider all the possible candidates for the stake that he'd

made, he said the worst one was trying to block me from being First

Minister. -- possible candidates for mistakes. Anyway, it made my

political career in Wales, so I can hardly be an for Tony Blair blocking

me in ministerial office, because it may be a popular hero in Wales

because he snubbed me, so I'm grateful to Tony Blair for doing

that, but that is the swings and roundabouts of politics. I could

never understand, even his great accomplishment and his real

political skill, in the best sense, bringing people over to agree with

him, which is a remarkable attribute, why he wasn't certainly

put in the government by Tony Blair in 1997, and put into the Cabinet,

in my view. Wood I followed Rhodri Morgan on a trip to the States, and

the first encounter was him all over. He is reading a famously

difficult novel by James Joyce and wearing the oldest pair of jeans

I've seen in business class. He has no time for the modern-day obsession

with image. His welcoming party watches as his old bag begins to

fall apart on arrival. I've got a knackered old leather bag. A small

pick-up on an important trip. It's September last year, and it's

Louisville, Kentucky, famous for bluegrass music and a certain kind

of fast food. And, this year, home to golf's Ryder Cup, a global

sporting phenomenon that Wales will host next year. Bore da, Ieuan. Was

on the trip, his deputy, you will Jones, the need Plaid Cymru, a

political opponent now part of the Assembly government. -- the leader

of Plaid Cymru. He is smiling because last night he met Muhammad

Ali. When I tell Jack Brooks that you... Coming from a non-boxing part

of Wales. Have you never heard the story that I told? How you used to

be an amateur boxer? Know, how my father would insist my brother got

up at 3am to watch him fight in the early 60s, because we'd never seen a

boxer like him. Your father was a keen boxing fan? Yes. Sparring over,

a breakfast briefing about the day ahead. It's not just about sport.

They could be jobs for Wales. A lot of those meetings are sensitive

because the companies don't want it out there that they are meeting us.

They are very high priority. A hectic schedule, golf attracting

business people in their droves, and much of the First Minister's time

here is spent networking. How are things in your business? It carries

on into the evening. Even so, he makes his daily call to his wife, MP

Julie Morgan. We are off to the Muhammad Ali centre, a Wales

reception as I try and build the bridge between the 37th Ryder Cup,

is it that? That is in Valhalla, with the 38th in Newport. I have to

tell them, come to Wales and so on. Another objective tonight, to try

and avoid the fatty food that accompanies these occasions. A

low-fat, no fat diet. No skin. Just white chicken meat. Because, like

him, I've had a stand fitted in my heart and I have to eat low-fat

food. We are determined, however high bar

has been set, we are going to jump even higher in 2010. Look forward to

seeing you. What do you reckon about the TV

audiences these days? 1 billion people watching it. It could be 2

billion. What an unbelievable spotlight to have on Wales. We just

wish the government understood how important it was. Joking aside, they

all know how much Rhodri Morgan has personally put into securing this

event for Wales. It is all about developing the Welsh brand, starting

with the right shirt to fit into team Wales. I have worn white and

black, I thought I would try pink. I have never worn a pink shirt before.

We have a once in a generation opportunity to put Wales on the map

in a political sense, but you also have to put Wales on the map in an

economic sense and our economic development will be hampered unless

Wales gets the same profile as other sports countries. We bid for the

Ryder Cup because we thought it would potentially transform the

profile of Wales, especially in North America. Ryder Cup 2010. After

that do they know where Wales is? I am hoping far more will. Keeping

tabs on time is Lawrence Conway, a senior civil servant who runs the

First Minister's office. He had his setback last year, but he seems to

have come back with an appetite now for all the work he is doing. On

this trip I watched as the First Minister put in at least 14 hours a

day. Not bad for someone nearly 70. There was the occasional power nap.

CHEERING .

In the end of the USA won the tournament. Disappointing for

Europeans, but the Welsh left Kentucky excited by the prospect of

international attention and a boost to the economy. As First Minister of

the national Assembly in Wales, Rhodri Morgan set out to establish a

voice that was very distinct from that of the Labour Party in

Westminster. He knew there was no point simply doing exactly what was

being done by the Labour government in London. We had to look at Welsh

ways to do things differently in Wales where it was the right thing

to do and that meant doing things in a different way from the other party

in London. He will be remembered somebody who put in place those

building blocks for a strong devolution in Wales. We are an

Assembly to be reckoned with. And he was somebody who was able to

communicate with the public in a way which very few politicians have at

their fingertips. In that way he was quite exceptional. He took a

fledgling democracy and an institution that was struggling in

2000 and build something far more durable. He took the Assembly from

being something that was not widely supported by the people in Wales, to

being an institution that people understand and the institution is

very much part of our lives in Wales. He deserves the credit for

the work he did for that over the best part of a decade. He was a

lovely, warm guy who maintain friendships. When he became First

Minister in Wales he gave reality to devolution, reality was the

principle of the Assembly in Wales, and set up a structure and sister

was there that have done so much good in helping the people of Wales

and helping the National identity. We all owe him a huge debt of

thanks. Eight years ago, Rhodri Morgan and his brother Prys told me

how they had traced the family's history of activism back generations

to the 19th century and the Rebecca Riots, people's revolt against road

tolls. Morgan Morgan probably was one of the leaders of the Rebecca

rising which had led to the smashing of the toll gates near where

Morrison Hospital is today. In 1843. The Morrison Hospital. And they were

eventually released because of the collapse of the evidence against

them. It was when Rhodri and I went to the Tabernacle Sunday school when

an uncle of hours... Uncle Billy, superintendent of the Sunday school.

What a status with that role. He used to remind Rhodri, I was

interested in the historical side, he used to remind you that you were

one of the children of Rebecca, the children of the oppressed. I could

see you with your huge eyes staring at him and this great mop of hair.

He would say this every Sunday. While religion was a big part of his

upbringing he was to outgrow it. It is Easter and the place is Mwnt in

Cardigan Bay, famous for its picturesque church. Julie and Rhodri

Morgan have been coming here to their holiday caravan for years. I

am very proud of my nonconformists Welsh Chapel heritage. I have not

inherited belief in some sort of Almighty, I am a rationalist in that

sense. I remember being very upset when my grandmother had cancer and

was living with us and she had about a year's remission when she seemed

to be getting better. And so it was a nice Sunday morning like this and

she had done a bit of washing to show she had been getting better. I

mentioned this to my aunt and I saw my aunt nearly dropping the plate

that she had, the most important thing was that somebody had done

washing on Sunday that you should not do. I thought is this religion

all it is cracked up to be? He may have lost his faith, but religion

was a formative interest. They say nonconformity is the biggest single

background effect on determining whether you vote Tory or not. Church

equals Tory,, you might vote for another party like Plaid Cymru, but

I think I have grown up with that view. A very large majority of

people in Wales have inherited that same nonconformist, radical

background. In 2007, Rhodri Morgan was forced to slow down for a while

when he was admitted to hospital. Is this a daily routine when you can do

it? Five or six days a week. I will miss one maybe. When I am in North

Wales will stop certainly five night a week. Is this something you have

done for health reasons or have you always been a walker? I have always

been a walker or a runner, but then I took it more seriously and made

sure I took it into my routine and made sure I got the time because of

my heart problem. Oh, then. Now he can do it. That is good. I do not

usually come this way. You do not get too much stiffness or anything

like that? Has the effect of age kicked in yet? No. When we climbed

Snowdon I did not feel stiff the next day. I have a cod liver oil

pill in the morning. I do not know whether that has an effect. They

keep your joints supple. This must be a fantastic place to come after a

hard day, the stresses of the office. Absolutely, yes, it is. I

could not be luckier. If you go right into the middle of the wood,

you could be in a South American jungle and yet you are literally

five miles from the centre of Cardiff. Two years later and a few

days after his 70th birthday, he announced he was to step down as

First Minister and leave front line politics. You cannot wait until

others push you out. It frequently happens after ten years. I have seen

it happen to leaders. Like Tony Blair and so forth, and I do not

want that to happen to me. There is an actual thing about a decade...

Hello, Gavin. How are we? Not too bad. Good. Quite the big day. Yes,

it has been a bit emotional. More emotional than I expected. Is there

really maybe because the announcement has been made now. Yes,

of course there is. Because trying to get the details of it right has

been problematic. We only finally determined the details on Monday in

an obscure corner of the conference in Brighton. We had a good few hours

to nail down the details. It was a bit more emotional than you thought

today. Trying to explain to people that I do love this job and I am

giving it up voluntarily because of a long-held belief that you should

not stay too long. People do not always understand the logic of that.

You do not strike me as a tremendously emotional person in

that sense. I am a very unemotional person I hope. I have control over

my emotion, except there were personal things, not over political

things. You are not going to regret it? No, not at all. Here we are, OK.

The end of his last week soon arrives. His successor, Carwyn

Jones, is announced, waiting in the wings. After the farewell interviews

he gathers up mementos and personal gift, including his beloved

Patagonian poncho, and I wanted to know what one thing he would take

away as an achievement. The foundation phase. To do something

that breaks with 120 odd years of compulsory primary education

tradition in Britain, to reduce the long tail of non-achievers and

non-readers by giving them this very thorough grounding in curriculum in

the Scandinavian manner, that is number one thing that I was achieved

and it has taken ten years to roll it out, but we have finally done it.

There is one thing he will not have to live with any more. I am

gradually finding the kind of sense of pressure on me lifting. I slept

unbelievably well for three night in a row. When was the last time you

had such good sleep? Ten years ago. I think the weight of office does

have an effect. I hope Carwyn Jones is not watching this. Looking back,

definitely something has happened over the last three days that is

different from the previous ten years. In retirement he concentrated

on his family and life at home. We were neighbours for a period and he

was a brilliant Gardner and so on. He was very active at that time,

physically active, and he was physically active to the very end

despite his illnesses. That was his strength of character coming

through. But he never gave up on politics. Out campaigning for the

Labour Party for next month's general election. There is nobody

who could compare with Rhodri in many ways. He was a witty, kind

polymath and I will miss him immensely, as I am sure everyone in

Wales will, even those he did not know him. He was that kind of

person. He was a giant of the Labour Party and the labour movement and

Julie, his wife, also an MP, obviously they are all devastated by

this shocking news and I put my arms around them all. Give a really big

labour welcome. I think that it is impossible to follow in Rhodri's

footsteps because as we say in Wales, he was on his own. Thank you,

conference. He was a one-off.