Welsh party leaders rally troops as landmark election day draws to a close

Emily Price

As the sun sets on what is expected to be the most significant election day since the dawn of devolution in 1999, Wales’ political leaders have rallied their troops ahead of tomorrow’s results.

First Minister and leader of the Welsh Labour Party Baroness Eluned Morgan is predicted to be the most high profile casualty of the May 7 vote.

Morgan was photographed this morning wearing Adidas Gazelle trainers in Labour’s trademark red as she cast her vote in Pembrokeshire with her husband.

She urged people not to use the election as a “protest vote” against Prime Minister Keir Starmer, but also defended her party’s record after more than two decades in power.

The First Minister has seen Welsh Labour languish in the polls over recent months and has admitted that keeping her seat in Ceredigion Penfro would be a “challenge”.

However, when asked whether this meant she had accepted defeat, Morgan insisted she would keep fighting until every vote had been cast.

Labour’s Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies insisted today’s vote is not a “two-horse” race between Plaid Cymru and Reform UK.

But he acknowledged that a new ITV poll — which put Plaid Cymru on 33%, Reform UK on 29%, and Labour trailing on just 12% — was “disappointing”.

Rhun ap Iorwerth, the leader of Plaid Cymru, was among other Welsh party leaders who cast their vote today.

He voted in Llangristiolus, Ynys Môn, accompanied by his wife and two daughters.

Iorwerth described the election as a “two-horse race” between Plaid and Nigel Farage’s “billionaire-backed party”, Reform UK.

He said there was a “compelling tactical reason” to vote for Plaid “because one party has to beat Reform”.

Iorwerth’s colleague, Heledd Fychan, echoed this, warning that the race for the fifth and sixth seats was so close that the final outcome could be decided by just a handful of votes.

Meanwhile, Welsh Conservative Leader Darren Millar cast his vote alongside his daughter and his pet whippet dog, which sported a royal blue Conservative Party rosette.

He insisted the new proportional voting system means that the Senedd election is, “not a two horse race”.

The new system is specifically designed to move away from “two-horse races” and ensure that the final result more accurately reflects the total share of the vote across Wales.

However, many voters hoping to prevent either Plaid Cymru or Reform UK from emerging as the largest party in Wales are backing one or the other in an attempt to vote tactically.

Millar’s Tory colleague and lead candidate in Gŵyr Abertawe, Tom Giffard, posted a voting system explainer video to Facebook saying there was “no such thing” as tactical voting in this election.

He said people could vote “with their head and their heart” and did not need to back one party simply to keep another out because no party was going to win an outright majority in the Senedd.

“In a hung parliament, strong Conservative voices are more important than ever,” he said.

Reform Wales leader Dan Thomas snapped a photo of himself outside a polling station this morning with his thumbs up.

The former Conservative London council leader said his new party needed to deliver “a result too big for the political establishment to ignore”.

Elsewhere, Reform’s failed Caerphilly by-election candidate Llyr Powell said the “best thing” about election day was that the “fake news are regulated”.

Although broadcasters are prohibited from discussing or analysing election issues on polling day, print and online journalists have significantly more freedom.

Powell faced a backlash during his last Senedd bid over his links to Reform’s former leader in Wales, Nathan Gill, who recently admitted accepting bribes in exchange for carrying out pro-Russian activities.

Powell previously worked as a constituency caseworker for Gill. He described his former employer’s actions as “abhorrent” and insisted he had no knowledge of the offences.

Meanwhile, Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds cast her vote in the book town of Hay-on-Wye.

Polling suggests the Lib Dems are at serious risk of being wiped out in Wales, although some projections indicate they could narrowly hold on to representation in the Senedd.

Dodds – the party’s only Senedd Member – has remained publicly confident, saying she hopes to “paint Wales gold” on polling day.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski joined Welsh leader Anthony Slaughter as he voted in Penarth.

The Greens in Wales have claimed that with Plaid Cymru set to end Welsh Labour’s dominance, they could hold the balance of power in the Senedd.

Polling has predicted the Greens are on track for a historic breakthrough and could win their first-ever seats in the Welsh Parliament.

Polanski and Slaughter urged supporters to “step up” and help drive turnout on polling day.

Slaughter said he was “confident” but not “complacent” about getting Green candidates elected to the Senedd.

Voters have until 10pm on Thursday to cast their ballot to elect the next members of the Welsh Parliament.