Plaid Cymru are now the biggest party in the Senedd, bringing an end to a century of Labour’s dominance in Welsh elections
Rhun ap Iorwerth said he wants to work ‘constructively’ with the UK Government (Image: BBC/Politics Wales)
Plaid Cymru leader and likely next First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth has said the UK Government has “two choices” following an historic Senedd Election – it can “punish” Wales for voting Labour out of power after 27 years or it can “reflect” on how it can better serve the people of Wales.
Welsh Labour were battered by voters on May 7 and will now have a vastly depleted group in the Senedd of just nine MSs. They slipped to a distant third place, behind Plaid Cymru, who are now the biggest party, and Reform UK.
Plaid won 43 seats, six short of a majority, and Mr ap Iorwerth announced on the steps of the Senedd on Saturday to a jubilant crowd of supporters that he wishes to form a minority government and expects to be voted in as First Minister next week.
He declared the result of the Senedd Election “a moment 100 years in the making”. Follow all the latest reaction and news following the election on our live blog here.
In interviews with the BBC on Sunday morning as the dust settled on the historic result, the Plaid Cymru leader spoke about the relationship he hopes to have with the UK Government as the likely next First Minister.
He told Politics Wales the UK Government and UK Labour can either “punish Wales” for voting them out of power, or “reflect” on how they can better serve Wales. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
He said he wants to work with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Welsh secretary Jo Stevens in a “constructive way” as the “negotiator in chief for Wales”.
Rhun ap Iorwerth delivering a speech on the steps of the Senedd(Image: Richard Swingler)
Mr ap Iorwerth added that previous Labour first ministers have been “unwilling” to take the fight to the UK Government. He said: “This First Minister is willing to take that fight to the UK Government, but we’ll do it constructively. I don’t expect me to ask and now suddenly they say ‘have what you want’.
“That’s not how politics works, but the nature of the negotiation, the unwillingness to back down when we get a no, to make the case stronger, to highlight what’s at stake to the UK Labour Government [is different].
“They have two choices now. They can punish Wales for the way that we voted in this election, or they can reflect and say ‘our indifference to Wales has been found out’.
“We will call that out, and we will give them the option to do the right thing for Wales. I’m happy to be the guide for the UK Prime Minister.”
Rhun ap Iorwerth and the new Plaid Cymru MSs celebrating (Image: Richard Swingler)
Mr ap Iorwerth also described the “incredible scenes” outside the Senedd on Saturday, when he and the 42 other Plaid Cymru MSs gathered on the steps of the Welsh Parliament. Hundreds of supporters turned out to cheer for the party, before breaking out in an impromptu rendition of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, drowning out reporters who were trying to ask questions to the Plaid leader.
“It means a huge amount to me and to my family who were there with me yesterday, but this is about Wales,” he said.
“I’ve spoken in this campaign over recent months about an alliance that I wanted to build behind what Plaid Cymru wants to do for Wales and I had a real sense of that, not just on the steps of the Senedd yesterday – those incredible scenes there – but on the streets, when people are coming up to me from all backgrounds, all ages saying ‘We were with you. We are with you now’.
“That gives me an immense sense of pride in what we have achieved but excitement about what we can do together.”
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