Plaid Cymru wins 43 seats, Rhun Ap Iorwerth becomes first minister
Rhun Iorwerth was voted first minister of Wales after Plaid Cymru became the largest party in the Senedd with 43 of the 96 seats from last week’s election. He said the role was “the greatest privilege of my life” and called the result a turning point for Welsh government leadership.
The change means Wales will now be led by its first Plaid Cymru first minister after 27 years of Labour-led Welsh governments. Iorwerth said he would seek a minority government and told the Senedd, “Something has stirred in the soul of Wales.”
Senedd vote for Rhun Iorwerth
In his first speech after the vote, Iorwerth set out a government that would serve “everyone in every community, urban and rural, old and young, whether they speak Welsh or do not.” He also said, “Where there is common ground, we will make every effort to find it,” and added that the new administration would support people facing “unfairness and injustice.”
His speech tied the new leadership to a broader responsibility for the country, saying, “Wales is a vineyard entrusted in our care, and we will care for her.” He said, “That is when we know that our best days lie ahead of us.”
Huw Irranca-Davies and Kerry Ferguson
Following the vote, Labour’s Huw Irranca-Davies was selected as the new presiding officer, or Llywydd in Welsh, and Plaid’s Kerry Ferguson was selected as deputy presiding officer. Those choices shape how the Senedd will be run as Iorwerth takes office.
The party numbers in the chamber leave no single governing majority. Plaid won 43 seats, Reform won 34, Labour won nine, the Conservatives won seven, the Greens won their first two seats, and the Liberal Democrats won one.
Dan Thomas in first minister's questions
Iorwerth said Plaid’s work “starts now” and said he looked forward to weekly first minister’s questions with Reform’s Dan Thomas. “I will learn soon enough whether asking them is much more fun than asking them,” he said.
For voters, the immediate change is clear: Welsh government leadership has moved away from Labour for the first time in 27 years, and Plaid now has to turn 43 seats into working support without a majority of its own.
