It’s all about consolidation of power, isn’t it? This close to an election Labour can skip the typical candidate selection process. This allows Starmer to purge his biggest critics in the party and replace them with whatever Blairite cronies briefcase Labour has most recently shat onto his desk.
From my own brief personal interactions with Vaughan Gething, I got the opinion he’s a bit of a dick.
I feel somewhat validated in my estimations now his sketchy political dealings have come to light.