MARK Drakeford has been confirmed as the next first minister of Wales following a vote in the Assembly.

Mr Drakeford, who was elected as Welsh Labour leader last week, received 30 votes in an election in the Senedd this afternoon.

The Assembly’s Conservative group and Plaid Cymru also nominated their respective leaders Paul Davies and Adam Price, who received 12 and nine votes respectively.

His nomination will now have to be confirmed by the Queen before it becomes official.

Speaking following the vote, Mr Drakeford said it was “an enormous privilege to lead a political party here in Wales, and even more so to be nominated and elected as first minister in the National Assembly”.

“I am absolutely conscious both of the opportunity and of the responsibility that comes with this position,” he said.

He added: “When I was elected as leader of the Labour Party last week, I said that I wanted to be a beacon of hope in a darkening world.

“Today is not a moment for partisan remarks, but the skies around us have darkened even further in the days that have followed.

“A species of madness has descended on the Conservative Party, in which significant numbers of its Members of Parliament appear to believe that our country's future is best secured by heaping a leadership contest onto the burning platform that Brexit has become.

"I really do believe that here, in a much newer and very different institution, things really are done differently and almost always that things are done better.”

Mr Drakeford is yet to announce his full cabinet, but has confirmed Liberal Democrat education secretary Kirsty Williams will stay on on the same terms she was given the job following the 2016 Assembly Election.

In a joint statement Mr Drakeford and Ms Williams said: "We will work together, and across government, in the best interests of citizens and our country.

"The opportunity of working together in government commits us to reducing inequality, promote fairness for all, and a just society fit for the challenges and opportunities ahead."

All 29 Labour AMs, apart from deputy presiding officer Ann Jones, who is ineligible to vote, plus Liberal Democrat Kirsty Williams and Independent Dafydd Elis-Thomas voted for Mr Drakeford.

All 11 Conservative AMs, as well as Mark Reckless, who is an Independent AM but part of the Assembly's Conservative group, voted for Mr Davies.

Of the 10 Plaid Cymru AMs, South Wales East's Steffan Lewis was not present to vote, and Ceredigion's Elin Jones is ineligible to vote as the Assembly's presiding officer. The remaining seven Plaid AMs, along with Independent Neil McEvoy, voted for Mr Price.

The four Ukip AMs, as well as independent Caroline Jones, abstained from the vote. Independent North Wales AM Mandy Jones was not present to vote.