First Minister predicts long Senedd term after Reform kick off FMQs with vote share clash
Emily Price
Rhun ap Iorwerth has predicted a long Senedd term after Reform’s Welsh leader opened First Minister’s Questions (FMQs) by repeatedly comparing his party’s vote share to Plaid Cymru’s.
Laughter broke out in the Chamber on Tuesday (June 2) as Dan Thomas sparred with Wales’ new First Minister during the first regular Plenary session under the new Plaid Cymru administration.
Mr Thomas urged the First Minister to apologise to Welsh voters, claiming he had misled them during the election campaign about his plans to reduce Wales’ two-year hospital waiting lists.
Mr ap Iorwerth said work had already begun on the necessary changes needed to tackle the longest waits.
Mr Thomas argued that Reform had secured the backing of 30 per cent of Welsh voters because they trusted the party to deliver improvements to the NHS in Wales.
His comments prompted laughter from some Senedd Members and the First Minister.
Reform’s leader pressed on, criticising Mr ap Iorwerth’s stance on international relations.
He questioned why the new Plaid Cymru-led Welsh Government would not reverse Labour’s policy of “spending large sums of money abroad”, arguing that the funds could instead be redirected to the NHS.
The First Minister said he wanted to be serious about the challenges facing Wales rather than the “small change referred to by the leader of the opposition”.
Heckling broke out in the Chamber as Mr ap Iorwerth pointed out that Reform’s UK leader Nigel Farage, “does not believe in an NHS funded through general taxation”.
Mr Thomas pointed again to the vote share at the recent Welsh election saying Plaid had only won 6 per cent more votes than Reform.
He warned that the gap could narrow further unless the First Minister demonstrated a clear commitment to “putting the people of Wales first”.
Raising the matter of an Audit Wales investigation that found Aneurin Bevan University Health Board had failed to carry out due diligence checks before awarding GP contracts, Mr Thomas said the health service should be the First Minister’s top priority.
Mr ap Iorwerth said: “It’s going to be a very long Senedd term if it starts in this way – but we got a certain percentage more than you in the election.
He added: “Listen, we have a programme for government that we have laid in front of the people of Wales that absolutely gets to grips with issues such as that which was referred to in Aneurin Bevan.
“We want to make sure that we cut out decisions such as the one that he referred to so that we can focus spending on where it makes a difference – to the patients that we all are here to serve.”
Reform’s Welsh leader and several of his newly elected backbenchers appeared heavily reliant on scripts during the Plenary session with some needing to be prompted by the Senedd’s presiding officer on when to speak.
Giggling broke out in the Chamber again when Sir Fynwy Torfaen MS Stephen Senior asked if the First Minister would commit to offering separate physics, chemistry and biology GCSEs, and “reverse the previous administration’s plans to offer only combined science”.
Mr ap Iorwerth answered flatly: “Qualifications Wales announced in September 2025 that separate GCSEs in physics, chemistry and biology would continue to be available.”
Former Welsh Conservative James Evans emerged as the strongest of Reform’s challengers, delivering his question to the FM without relying on a laptop or prepared script.
The farmer called on Mr ap Iorwerth to outline the new Welsh Government’s priorities for agriculture, warning that the Welsh suckler herd had fallen by over 40 per cent, putting “huge pressure” on livestock numbers.
The First Minister said: “This Government has supported environmental policies, but the farmers that I know, and those that I speak to, want to be seen as being environmentally responsible.
“And all the actions that we want to pursue as this Government are to help agriculture be more sustainable, more profitable and more environmentally sustainable.”
Later during FMQ’s, Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar called on the new Plaid administration to commit to a third Menai crossing.
The First Minister said the new Welsh Government would act with greater urgency and focus, adding that he had committed to “developing solutions” to improve the resilience of transport links across the Menai strait.
Interim Welsh Labour leader Ken Skates raised the issue of rising energy costs across.
He asked Mr ap Iorwerth if he agreed that the building of eight small modular reactors at Wylfa offered “enormous opportunity” to provide energy security, lower bills and new jobs in the First Minister’s Bangor Conwy Môn constituency.
Mr ap Iorwerth replied: “My position on Wylfa is very, very clear. This is a reserved matter, and the manifesto coming into this election said that there were matters that were reserved, which absolutely includes Wylfa.”
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
Plaid beat Reform by a bigger margin than Leave beat Remain in Wales. Does Dan have something to say about the validity of that result.
We don’t need nuclear power, we produce more than we need now. We need local wind farms and solar installations to lower prices for locals. And as long as we are trapped by the failures of the neighbours to go green, we are trapped by international prices fixed elsewhere. Example is North Sea call, the oil would be priced at standard international prices and so not cut prices. We need to move away rapid from fossils and free us from oil barons whims and moronic wars that make us the victim on prices.
Well said!👏👏👏
RUK in Cymru is a clown car and they’ve already baked their custard pies
They’re really embarrassing to politics. We need to get Putins lapdogs out of our Senedd.
The biggest and most dangerous clowns are Liebor and their Welsh party lackeys.
Bloke on the rights owner is trying to start riots. Guess his orders are in.
I do hope the Russian party aren’t going to just continously waste time like they’re doing at the moment.
They’re really making politics look like a bit of a joke. I think it’s down to us to ensure that official complaints are lodged against the Reform members every time they act inappropriately, we can’t have this riff raff in our government building.
As I’ve mentioned. So far, Reform have constantly used sabotage tactics page for page out of the CIA training manual from the 60’s.
The above performances are saboteur actions plain and simple, the UK security services really should be involved if we’ve got Russian assets carrying our duties on Welsh soil.
70.7% of voters at last month’s Senedd elections rejected Defraud UK. Do they not understand what the word mandate means?
I watched quite a bit of this , and I got to say the standard of politicians we have as a nation is dire. The Reform lot , well some could hardly string 2 sentences together! Awful! I suppose we can’t be too surprised there. But also aswell, and I am going to say this , some of the female Plaid’s MS’s in particular were awful too. I suspect the reason they were chosen as MS’s was simply for that reason – because they are female and to tick a box. One of the first things politicians should have a… Read more »
In the species known as “human”, the female is commonly referred to as a “woman” and the plural term is “women”.
They aren’t chosen for their skills at public speaking. They are chosen for their ability to get the job done when working for their constituents. I suspect that the “box” they tick is the one marked “working hard for the people who voted for them”. I’m pretty sure that this is the only box that matters.
Plaid has been given this chance from the people of Wales .
If they are successful we will praise them if they fail they will be not be forgiven
Wales has been failed since the Senedd was formed
Regarding the spending money on overseas should be stopped
We are not financially able to support ourselves
Without the support from Westminster we are not able to finance our public services
The Senedd must concentrate on Wales
Being like the previous
Self centered self important lot
Will not get Wales
Public Services fit for purpose
The “Scripted questions” bit is a well worn path in politics. The plan is to get their comments reported on and, thus, make it appear that these things are the important issues. This is why people talk so much about immigration. Is immigration damaging our country? According to nearly every economic model, immigration has been vital to keeping our economy running and protecting us from some of the worst dips that international financial fluctuations should have caused us. If we managed it properly by employing more staff to process people through the system more quickly, it would be excellent. Nevertheless,… Read more »
How sad to see our Senedd stained with presence of the English centric Reform hate preachers.