Plaid Cymru government receives early backing in first 100 days poll

Martin Shipton

The Plaid Cymru government and its First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth have received cautious approval in a poll organised to coincide with the new administration’s first 100 days – but with many reserving judgement.

Beaufort Research interviewed a representative sample of 500 adults across Wales aged 16 and over online between 10-11 August 2026.

The picture is one of cautious recognition rather than settled judgement. Awareness of the new government is reasonably strong, but far from universal. Overall assessments are more positive than negative, but uncertainty remains high.

On many policy areas, the dominant response is that it is still “too early to say”. This suggests a Welsh public that has noticed the change but is not yet convinced it has translated into visible difference or indeed made up its mind.

Awareness of the change in government following the Senedd election is mixed. When asked which political party is now in government in Wales, 60% correctly identified Plaid Cymru. However, one in five said Labour, suggesting that for some people the political shift has not yet fully cut through.

Awareness was higher among older respondents, with 71% of those aged 55+ correctly naming Plaid Cymru, compared with 55% of 16-34s and 49% of 35-54s. It was also considerably higher among those who voted in the last Senedd election, at 74%, compared with 46% among those who did not.

There is also a clear distinction between party awareness and leader awareness. When asked to name the current First Minister of Wales, 46% mentioned Rhun ap Iorwerth, while 43% said they did not know, were not sure or could not remember.

Awareness of Rhun ap Iorwerth was notably higher among those aged 55+ at 58%, ABC1 1 respondents at 57%, Welsh speakers at 61%, and those who voted in the last Senedd election at 65%.

Among those who voted Plaid Cymru at the last Senedd election, 76% mentioned him, compared with 58% of Reform UK voters and 60% of Labour voters.

Overall, the public is more likely to say the new Welsh Government has performed well than badly during its first 100 days. Around four in ten respondents (39%) say it has performed very or fairly well, compared with 23% who say it has performed very or fairly badly.

However, the largest single response is “don’t know”, at 38%, underlining how many people have not yet formed a clear view.

The most positive assessments come from Cardiff and South East Wales, where 51% say the government has performed well, compared with 37% in North and Mid Wales and 32% in South West Wales and the Valleys. Younger respondents are also more positive: 52% of 16-34s say the government has performed well, compared with 34% of both 35-54s and those aged 55+.

Welsh speakers are particularly positive, with 60% saying the government has performed well, compared with 34% of non-Welsh speakers.

Party support matters strongly, as expected. Among those who voted Plaid Cymru at the last Senedd election, 81% say the government has performed well and only 5% say badly. By contrast, among Reform UK voters, 19% say well and 45% say badly. Labour voters are more mixed, with 52% saying well and 22% badly.

The reasons people give for positive assessments of the first 100 days are broad rather than dominated by a single achievement. Among those who say the government has performed well, the most common reasons given spontaneously are that there have been “no major” problems so far / nothing has got worse” and that the government is “taking early action / putting plans in place”, both cited by 12%. Other themes include putting Wales, Welsh people or the Welsh language first, cited by 11%, and delivering on promises or sticking to commitments, cited by 8%.

Negative assessments of performance since the election are more concentrated. Among those who say the government has performed badly, the dominant reason is that “nothing has changed / no difference”, cited by 35%. This is followed by concerns about the cost of living (14%) and views that the government has failed to deliver or done nothing so far (9%).

This suggests that criticism is more about a perceived lack of visible impact than any specific policy failure.

When people are asked about performance on specific policy areas such as the NHS, cost of living, education, housing and the economy, the clearest finding is uncertainty. Across most areas, the most common answer is that it is too early to say whether the government is doing a good or poor job. This is particularly evident on housing, where 60% say it is too early to say, economic growth and jobs (59%), education and schools (57%), and NHS and healthcare and public transport (both 53%).

The key area of strength for the government so far is Welsh language and culture. Here, 28% say it is doing a good job, compared with 11% who say it is doing a poor job.

This is the only issue tested where positive ratings clearly outweigh negative ratings. Support is especially high among Welsh speakers (at 53%), and in North and Mid Wales (at 38%). It is also higher among 16-34s (at 39%), than among those aged 55+ (at 23%).

Public transport is the next most positive area, with equal proportions saying the government is doing a good job and a poor job, both 19%.

Again, younger respondents are more positive, with 37% of 16-34s saying the government is doing a good job, compared with 15% of 35-54s and 9% of those aged 55+. Cardiff and South East Wales is also more positive on transport, with 27% saying good job.

Cost of living

The most challenging issues for the new government are cost of living and NHS and healthcare. On cost of living, only 6% say the government is doing a good job, while 38% say poor job. On NHS and healthcare, 13% say good job and 29% say poor job. These figures matter because these are also among the public’s top priorities. In other words, the areas where people most want to see action are also areas where early ratings are weakest.

Education and schools receives a more balanced response, with 16% saying good job and 17% poor job, while housing and economic growth and jobs are more negative, with good-job ratings of 8% and 9% respectively. On housing, 25% say poor job, while on economic growth and jobs 22% say poor job.

Compared with expectations immediately after the Senedd election, 37% say the government’s performance has been better than expected, while 25% say worse than expected. A further 38% say they do not know.

The expectation gap is especially positive among younger respondents. Around half of 16-34s (51%) say performance has been better than expected, compared with 33% of 35-54s and 29% of those aged 55+. Welsh speakers are also much more positive, with 62% saying performance has been better than expected, compared with 30% of non-Welsh speakers.

Cardiff and South East Wales also stands out, with 46% saying better than expected, compared with 34% in North and Mid Wales and 32% in South West Wales and the Valleys. 41% think the government is keeping their election promises at least to some extent, while 29% do not. Again, there is substantial uncertainty, with 30% saying they do not know.

Welsh speakers are particularly likely to think promises are being kept, with 63% saying yes, compared with 36% of non-Welsh speakers. Younger respondents are also more positive, with 49% of 16-34s saying yes, compared with 37% of those aged 55+.

This suggests that the government has some early credit with parts of the public, but delivery is not yet widely visible. For many people, judgement is still provisional: they may not think the government has failed, but they are not yet ready to say it has delivered either.

Top priority

When asked what the Welsh Government’s top priority over the next 12 months should be, the cost of living is the clear leader, selected by 43% of respondents. NHS waiting times follow at 19%, with immigration third at 13%. Economic growth and jobs is cited by 7%, while housing is mentioned by 4%.

The cost of living is the top priority across most groups, but it is particularly prominent among 16-34s (55%), men (47%), C2DE respondents (48%), and those who did not vote in the last Senedd election (51%). NHS waiting times are much more important to older respondents, chosen by 30% of those aged 55+, compared with 10% of 16-34s and 12% of 35-54s.

Immigration is selected by 13% overall across Wales, but there are some notable subgroup differences. It is higher in North and Mid Wales at 19% than in South West Wales and the Valleys at 10% and Cardiff and South East Wales at 12%.

Among those who voted Reform UK at the last Senedd election, immigration is the most prominent priority (at 32%).

These findings underline the central challenge for the government: some of its more positive early ratings are on areas such as Welsh language and culture, while the public’s top priorities are dominated by household finances and health service pressures.

Finely balanced

The political outlook is finely balanced. On whether the change of government has made Wales better, worse or made little difference, 20% say better, 10% say worse, but a majority of nearly two in three (64%) say no real difference. This is perhaps the clearest indication that the first 100 days have not yet produced a widely felt change in everyday life.

There are, however, more positive signs for the new government when looking ahead. Four in ten (41%) say they are confident that the new Welsh Government can improve life in Wales over the next four years, while 50% are not confident. Confidence is much higher among 16-34s (57%), Welsh speakers (64%), and respondents in Cardiff and South East Wales (51%). It is lower among older respondents, with 59% of those aged 55+ saying they are not confident.

Views of Rhun ap Iorwerth are also more favourable than unfavourable overall. Some 39% have a favourable opinion of him, compared with 26% unfavourable, while 35% say they do not know.

Favourability is higher among Welsh speakers (63%), the more prosperous ABC1 respondents (48%), and those aged 16-34 (46%). Among Plaid Cymru voters, 84% have a favourable opinion of him, while Labour voters are also more favourable than unfavourable, 49% versus 28%.

Reform UK voters are much more negative, with 55% unfavourable.

Looking ahead to the next year, 30% expect the government’s performance to improve, 40% expect it to stay about the same, 19% expect it to get worse, and 11% do not know.

Optimism is strongest among 16-34s (41%), those living in Cardiff and South East Wales (43%), and Welsh speakers (45%). Among Plaid Cymru voters, 67% expect performance to improve, compared with 15% of Reform UK voters.

Mixed

The first 100 days of the new Plaid Cymru Welsh Government have produced a mixed but potentially promising picture. The public is more likely to say the government has performed well than badly, more likely to think it has exceeded rather than fallen short of expectations, and more likely to view Rhun ap Iorwerth favourably than unfavourably.

But the findings also point to clear limits on the government’s early impact. Awareness is far from universal, many people do not know who the First Minister is, and on most policy areas the dominant view is that it is too early to judge. The public is also much more focused on the cost of living and NHS waiting times than on some of the areas where the government currently receives its strongest ratings.

The central message is that the new government has earned some early goodwill, particularly among younger people, Welsh speakers, Plaid Cymru voters and respondents in Cardiff and South East Wales. But for many others, the first 100 days have not yet delivered a clear sense of change.

The next phase needs to be about turning recognition into understanding, early positivity into confidence, and policy ambition into visible improvements on the issues that matter most to people across Wales.

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