‘Ready to govern’: Plaid leader moves to form next Welsh Government

Mark Mansfield

Rhun ap Iorwerth has said Plaid Cymru is ‘ready’ to form the next Welsh Government after his party emerged as the largest in the Senedd following a dramatic election victory.

Speaking after all votes were counted, the Plaid Cymru leader said he would move quickly to open talks with other parties in a bid to secure support to become First Minister.

“Based on that vote, and a clear outcome, Plaid Cymru now stands ready to take the necessary steps to form the next Government of Wales,” he said.

Plaid won 43 seats in the 96-member chamber, ahead of Reform UK on 34, while Labour slumped to nine seats in one of the most significant shifts in Welsh political history.

The Welsh Conservatives secured seven seats, with the Greens on two and the Liberal Democrats one.

Although falling short of an overall majority, ap Iorwerth said he would “reach out to others with urgency” to find common ground and build a working administration.

“Our nation deserves a government that will work with determination to deliver on the things that matter most,” he said.

He described the result as “a moment one hundred years in the making” and said voters had chosen “hope over division” and “new leadership” for the first time in Wales’s devolved history.

The result brings an end to decades of Labour dominance in Cardiff Bay and leaves the party facing a period of reflection after a heavy defeat.

‘Change course’

Former First Minister Eluned Morgan lost her seat and later warned that the UK Government needed to “change course” in response to the result, citing public frustration over the cost of living.

Ap Iorwerth said Plaid would now focus on forming a government capable of delivering on key priorities, including cutting NHS waiting lists, improving schools and tackling poverty.

He added that the party would seek to govern “for all the people of Wales”, regardless of how they voted.