PETER ROFFEY will stand to retain his Health and Social Services ministry, he confirmed after failing to secure the chief minister seat. After losing out to Mike Torode by two votes in the final ballot for the top job, Deputy Roffey was gracious in defeat and wished the winner well.

‘I’m obviously disappointed not to have won but I always realised I was a bit of a dark horse coming into the vote,’ he said.

‘I wish him all the best. I think he will have a very different approach to the job than I would have had.’

Deputy Roffey said it was important now that everyone supported the new chief minister and showed a united front.

‘We need to be a government of unity and mend the fracture lines that have developed over the last few months.’

He had been concentrating on the chief minister election, but Deputy Roffey said he would now give serious consideration to running for deputy chief minister.

‘We are all waiting to see if we get a call from the new chief minister, but I would very much like to continue as Health and Social Services minister until the end of the term.

‘I really had not considered the role of deputy chief minister as I was fully focused on yesterday’s vote. But I will give it some serious consideration over the next 24 hours. I would certainly not rule out running for deputy chief.’

He added that his late decision to run for the chief minister seat might have had an impact on voting, but he had no way of knowing.

‘I had two factors that stopped me putting my name in early.

‘I wanted to wait and see the debate of the Wales Audit Office report and, as Deputy Morgan’s proposer three years ago, I would have found it very hard to have run against him.’