• Does a Tory government in Westminster limit what the Welsh government can achieve over the next five years?

We were of course disappointed by the result last year. What it has meant is that there is no end to austerity.

We know that austerity is not working. We’ve seen from George Osborne that things are going to take a turn for the worse again. Well, if that’s the case then it shows what’s been going on for the last five years hasn’t worked.

It will limit the amount of money that we have available to deliver services for people.

• Does the Welsh government have the power to end or alleviate austerity or do you need more powers and what are they?

We can’t end austerity. We’re trying to alleviate the worst of what the UK government has done, but we can’t plug every gap, for example, in terms of welfare.

What we can do is to carry on getting jobs for our people — unemployment is lower than in Scotland or in London — but also providing people with the skills they need in order to get those jobs.

In the early 1990s, Wales was sold on the basis that it was a low-wage economy — come to Wales because we’ll accept less money than anywhere else in Europe. Those days are behind us.

I want to make sure our people have the skills that they need to improve their circumstances and bring more high-quality investment into Wales and grow Welsh businesses to employ more people.

• Steel provides some of those high-quality jobs. You met David Cameron twice at Downing Street recently to discuss the crisis facing the industry. From your conversations with him, has he and the Westminster government learned the lessons of the past?

I’m staring straight at Port Talbot as we speak. In fairness, they do understand the need to keep our steel industry going, but we need to see action from them.

There are some things only they can do: deal with the pension liability and high energy prices putting industries in the UK in a more difficult position than those in Europe.

What we have done is put a package of £60 million on the table, including training, a commercial loan to improve one of the lines in Port Talbot and also money for environmental improvements to reduce the cost of power inside the plant.

• When the board of directors of a single company can throw a workforce, industry and country into a crisis overnight, is there a case for an ongoing public stake in industries with strategic importance like steel?

I think there is a case for that in order to make sure we don’t lose the industry. I want to make sure that somebody takes over the plant that’s going to run it properly, look for markets and invest.

That potentially involves the UK government taking a stake — we’ll look at what we can do as well — in order to give time for the industry to find its feet again.

It’s not the case that this industry has lost money year after year, and we know the price of steel will rise again in the future. It would be a tragedy if we lose our capacity to make steel in the UK in the meantime.

• And in the longer-term do you think there should be some government oversight of key industries to stop a repeat of this crisis next time there is a temporary downturn?

I certainly would be open to the idea of a government stake in the industry. In Wales we take joint ventures forward with private investors.

We don’t see a problem with government being active in promoting the economy and in terms of helping to create jobs.

If that’s what it takes in order for Port Talbot in particular to have a future, then that’s what should be done.

• Your manifesto commits you to repealing the Tories’ Trade Union Bill if it is passed. What are the practical steps you will take to do that and how soon will they happen?

We can repeal those sections of the Act that we think affect devolved public services, which we argue are our responsibility.

We have to wait to see whether the Bill becomes law. If it does then we can introduce a Bill in the Assembly to repeal those sections of the Act that we think lie within our power.

• David Cameron insists this is not a devolved matter, so are you expecting this dispute to have to be settled in court?

I’ve no doubt that it will end up in court, but we’re ready for that battle. We’ve been there before.

• The manifesto also promises “further action” on the living wage and zero-hours contracts. Is it a case of simply promoting better practices or is there practical action that can be taken?

We’re a living wage employer as a government, we have a living wage throughout the health service and we’re looking to see how we can do the same thing in the social care sector and roll the living wage out across local government.

• At one stage the Welsh NHS was being weaponised by David Cameron at Prime Minister’s Questions every week. Do you still have public confidence over the NHS and how do you now view those attacks in light of the chaos over the junior doctors’ contract?

The Welsh NHS delivers for most of the people most of the time. There have been occasions when it hasn’t delivered as we would have wanted but we have taken action.

We don’t get the attacks any more from Westminster because they’re on very rocky ground themselves with the junior doctors’ strike that hasn’t been imported into Wales and is in no danger of doing so.

Not just that but their own figures are deteriorating. Performance in England is getting worse and worse while Wales is getting better.

• On education, you’ve been unable to put a figure on what tuition fees students will pay because there is a review ongoing. Could that ambiguity damage Labour in student seats such as Cardiff central?

Any policy that we introduce will be reviewed from time to time. That review will be published in the autumn. We’re not bound by what it says.

There are two principles that will govern what we do: we’ll never put Welsh students in the same position as their peers in England and what we offer will be better than anything that the other parties have offered.

There are some facts we can’t control. If England lifts the cap on tuition fees it does mean we will have to rethink the model. Because are we then saying we will pay for Welsh students to study anywhere, regardless of what the fees might be. That’s a factor we can’t control, but a factor that may come into play in the near future.

• Ukip is set to win its first seats in the Senedd. Why is the right making ground in Wales?

Wales is as affected by the Eurosceptic press as parts of England are. Ukip at the moment are the current vehicle for people who are annoyed to express that.

It’s been other parties in the past. Ukip’s challenge will be to remain as a party because they spend most of their time arguing with each other. Neil Hamilton’s wife called their leader in Wales a “third-rate general.”

Will they do the work in Assembly? Because it’s not about turning up twice a week. There’s serious work that has to be done in committees.

Given their record in the European Parliament my worry is that they will shirk the work.

• Are you concerned that they could tarnish the reputation of the whole Assembly by doing that?

They’ll never bring down the reputation of the Assembly. It’s their own reputation that they have to watch.

• There will also be elections taking place in Scotland on May 5. Have you spoken to Kezia Dugdale to discuss strategy?

Kezia and I have met and spoken on several occasions. But we’re both focused on our own elections at the moment and Kezia will know what she needs to do in Scotland in a way that I wouldn’t. It’s a very different situation.

• So can Scottish Labour learn lessons from you in Wales?

Both our parties faced nationalist challenges. The Plaid Cymru vote was higher than the SNP vote in 1999. You can’t surrender the flag to nationalist parties.

We said we represent you: the people who like devolution, strongly Welsh and put the red shirt on for rugby internationals but don’t believe in independence.

I think Scottish Labour didn’t do that in the early part of the last decade in the same way.

We talk about a civic nationalism, not something that’s based on where you’re born, but a shared sense of identity and a shared sense of communality. That’s what we did as a party. It’s not what happened in Scotland.

• David Cameron has said that he will stand down before 2020. Can you commit to being first minister for the whole of the next Assembly if Labour wins the election?

I’m not dead yet, unlike David Cameron. My objective is to win the election and carry on as first minister. When politicians put their own limit on their time in office, people will turn around to them and say: “Hang on a second, who are you to tell us how long you’re going to be first minister for?” They will take a view on May 5.

• How confident are you, with new challenges from the likes of Ukip, that Labour can win the 30 seats or more needed to form a majority government?

There’s a long way to go yet, but I think it’s not unrealistic. Ukip aren’t going to take any seats from us but the danger they pose is taking votes from us and letting the Tories in in some constituencies. That’s what Labour voters have to consider.