Plaid Cymru leader vows to hold Prime Minister to account if elected First Minister

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has pledged to “publicly and robustly” hold the UK Prime Minister to account if he becomes First Minister following the Senedd election in May.

Speaking ahead of an address at the Institute for Government in London on Monday, Mr ap Iorwerth said he would seek to “reset the relationship between Wales and Westminster”, arguing that Wales has too often been constrained by what he described as an outdated constitutional settlement.

Recent opinion polls have suggested a potential shift in Welsh politics, with Plaid Cymru consistently polling strongly under the Senedd’s expanded membership and more proportional electoral system.

The party hopes the changes could open a pathway to forming a government.

In his speech, Mr ap Iorwerth is expected to accuse Labour of treating devolution as “an event, not a process”, claiming that momentum for transferring further powers to Wales has stalled despite repeated commitments.

“Wales is constrained by a constitutional reality that others seem to be in denial about,” he is due to say.

“For Labour, especially Labour MPs, they see the 1997 referendum and perhaps a few corrections as ‘job done’. The boil was lanced, as Blair later boasted. Devolution as an event, not a process.”

The Ynys Môn MS will also criticise what he portrays as a lack of meaningful influence by Wales’s current First Minister, Eluned Morgan, within the UK Government.

Referring to exchanges in the Senedd chamber, he is expected to say: “The throwback at me in the weekly session of First Minister’s Questions is that the current First Minister can pick up the phone to Number 10 in a way I can only dream of doing.

“It’s deeply undemocratic, and deeply disrespectful — not to me, but to the people of Wales.”

Mr ap Iorwerth is set to argue that claims of close cooperation between Cardiff Bay and Westminster have not been borne out in practice, citing recent disagreements between Welsh and UK Labour figures.

“Even if it were true that Wales’s First Minister has a hotline to Downing Street, there is little evidence that she gets past the switchboard,” he is due to say.

He points in particular to policing powers, long debated in Wales but not devolved, as an example of what he describes as mixed signals from Labour.

“Take the agonising recent example of the devolution of policing. The First Minister stood on this stage pledging her party’s apparent enthusiasm for it, only for the Home Secretary to directly contradict her comments a few days later.”

Setting out how he would approach relations with Westminster, Mr ap Iorwerth will emphasise that his priority would be “standing up for Wales”, even if that created friction with the UK Government.

“I want it to be a constructive relationship with the Prime Minister,” he is expected to say.

“But I make no apologies for making it clear to Keir Starmer in meeting after meeting that my loyalty, and that of my ministers, will be to the people of Wales.”

Assertive

He adds that where disagreements arise, his government would take a more transparent and assertive approach.

“My next move will be to be transparent about the roadblocks the UK Government is laying down, and publicly and robustly holding the Prime Minister to account for that.”

Mr ap Iorwerth is also expected to restate Plaid Cymru’s longstanding calls for further devolution, including justice and policing, welfare, broadcasting, and control over large energy projects.

He will also highlight demands for greater control over the Crown Estate and what he describes as a “fair funding formula” for Wales.

The Plaid leader is due to criticise the classification of major rail schemes as “England and Wales” projects, arguing that Wales has not benefited proportionately from resulting funding consequentials.

“New leadership for Wales mustn’t just be a campaign slogan,” he will say, “but seen through the lens of wider possibilities — unburdened by a loyalty to Westminster which has held Wales back for too long.”