Plaid Cymru to lead next Welsh government
An historic Senedd election has seen both Plaid Cymru and Reform replace Labour and the Conservatives as the two biggest parties in Wales
Last updated 13 hours ago
Plaid Cymru are to lead the next Welsh Government, following an historic Senedd election.
While the party have not won an outright majority, they are expected to lead Wales for the next four years.
It remains to be seen whether they will do that as a minority Government, or enter into a coalition with another party.
Concluding his victory speech, the Plaid leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth, said: “I now intend to reach out to others who can support these missions with the pace and the seriousness they demand, and to find common ground, where we can, for the common good.
“Plaid Cymru will press ahead with those conversations with urgency and put forward my name to be nominated as the next First Minister.
“I will end with these words: Our nation deserves a government that will work with relentless determination to deliver on the things that matter most to you.
“We now focus on that task, and we do this for Wales. Dros Cymru. Diolch yn fawr.”
The incumbent Welsh Labour Party reached near wipeout levels, with First Minister Baroness Eluned Morgan losing her own seat.
In a parting speech confirming she will step down as Welsh Labour leader, Baroness Morgan said: “It is clear that results across the whole of the United Kingdom have demonstrated deep frustration with the Labour Party.
“We need to go back to being the party of the working-class. We need the Labour Government nationally to change course. We need the wealth of this nation to be more equally distributed away from the South East.
“But I was always clear that this election was about Wales and Keir Starmer was not on the ballot. I am taking responsibility, and I am resigning.”
A strong showing for Reform
Reform UK are expected to lead the opposition in Wales, occupying the second most seats in the Senedd.
Their leader, Dan Thomas, has defended a decision not to attend meetings with the Welsh Civil Service before his election to the Senedd.
Asked about this by BBC Wales, he said: “I don’t think one or two meetings with the Civil Service would have really got the ground running, to be honest. And I was back and forth, my campaign schedule was so tight, it was very difficult to arrange, but we were back and forth with with the Civil Service.”
He added: “If we can form a government, I would like to think that that will be sometime in the next week or two, then we will hit the ground running. And in my experience, civil servants are very professional and should be able to be very agile.”
Mr Thomas said he was “really pleased to get two” out of six seats in the Casnewydd Islwyn constituency, adding: “There’s no doubt, given these results, that we definitely are a main contender for government.”