SENEDD: South-west Wales politicians take key roles as Rhun ap Iorwerth names his first Plaid Cymru Cabinet

Rhun ap Iorwerth has wasted no time in putting his stamp on the Welsh Government, naming a full Cabinet within hours of being confirmed as First Minister — and going with experience, with politicians from south-west Wales given some of its most significant roles.

The most senior appointment from the region is Sioned Williams, one of the six Members of the Senedd elected for the Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd constituency, who has been named Deputy First Minister with responsibility for Social Justice and Equality. Williams, who served as a Plaid Cymru MS in the sixth Senedd, becomes the second most powerful figure in the Welsh Government — a remarkable rise that places a familiar face from the region at the very top of Welsh politics.

Speaking after her appointment, she said she was “humbled” to have been named Deputy First Minister. “This Government for all is committed to turning promise into immediate action for the people of Wales,” she said, pledging to focus immediately on the childcare offer and tackling child poverty.

Adam Price, who was elected in Sir Gaerfyrddin after returning to the Senedd from third on Plaid’s list, has been handed the brief for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy. The former Plaid Cymru leader, who previously served as MP and then MS for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr before stepping down as leader in 2023, returns to the frontline of Welsh politics with one of the most economically significant briefs in the Cabinet.

Cefin Campbell, who topped the poll in Sir Gaerfyrddin as Plaid’s lead candidate in Carmarthenshire, has been appointed Deputy Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education. A former MS who served in the sixth Senedd, Campbell is a well-known figure across the county — his brother Darrel, a teacher at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Ammanford, was among those caught up in the knife attack at the school in April 2024, an incident that shocked communities across the region.

The three appointments reflect ap Iorwerth’s clear decision to go with experience for his first Cabinet. Williams, Price and Campbell all served in the previous Senedd, giving the new administration a significant bedrock of knowledge and political credibility from day one in government.

The full Cabinet also includes Elin Jones as Cabinet Minister for Finance — a significant appointment given the questions already raised about Welsh Government funding commitments under the new administration, including the 75% funding pledge for the new Ysgol Heol Goffa in Llanelli.

Heledd Fychan has been appointed Trefnydd — the Welsh Government’s equivalent of Leader of the House, responsible for managing the government’s legislative programme and business in the Senedd — alongside her role as Cabinet Minister for Culture and Sport.

Other Cabinet appointments include Mabon ap Gwynfor for Health and Care, Anna Brychan for Education and the Welsh Language, and Siân Gwenllian for Local Government, Housing and Planning.

Ap Iorwerth said the Cabinet would have a “relentless focus on doing what’s best for Wales.” He added: “United and filled with talent and experience ready to serve, my government will believe in the art of the possible, working as one team every day to improve the lives of the people of Wales.”

Welsh Labour said it would play an active role in holding the new government to account. A spokesperson said: “We look forward to being an effective opposition, scrutinising and holding the new Welsh Government to account. We’re living in a world with much uncertainty and all governments face challenges. No one knows better than our party that it is a privilege to govern and that immense responsibility now rests on different shoulders.”

Dan Thomas MS, Leader of Reform Wales, offered a cautious welcome while stressing his party’s intention to scrutinise the government. “The people of Wales need this Cabinet to deliver,” he said. “Our NHS, our schools and our economy need urgent change, and while I may disagree with Plaid, we all need them to succeed.”

He added: “We will scrutinise their actions and work to ensure that their attention is on our public services and not Welsh independence.”

With Cabinet now in place, Wales’ first Plaid Cymru government is formally up and running — just 24 hours after ap Iorwerth was confirmed as First Minister in the Senedd on Tuesday, ending 27 years of Labour leadership of the Welsh Government.

More on the new Welsh Government

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How Wales’s first Plaid Cymru First Minister was confirmed in the Senedd.

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The Carmarthenshire result that returned Adam Price and Cefin Campbell to Cardiff Bay.

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SENEDD: Rhun ap Iorwerth confirmed as First Minister as Plaid Cymru makes history after 27 years of Labour rule

Rhun ap Iorwerth has been confirmed as First Minister of Wales, ending 27 years of Labour leadership of the Welsh Government and making history as the first Plaid Cymru politician to hold the office.

The confirmation came following a vote in the first plenary session of the seventh Senedd, days after Plaid Cymru’s historic election victory last week saw the party win 43 of the 96 seats in the Senedd.

Forty-four Members of the Senedd voted to nominate ap Iorwerth as First Minister — 43 Plaid members plus the support of Wales’ two newly-elected Green MSs, who announced on Sunday they would back the Plaid leader. Reform UK’s Dan Thomas received 34 votes and Conservative leader Darren Millar seven.

Labour’s nine MSs abstained from the vote, as did the sole Liberal Democrat MS Jane Dodds — a decision that effectively settled the arithmetic in the chamber. With no other candidate able to attract more votes than all other candidates combined, ap Iorwerth’s path to the top job was secure.

In his first speech as First Minister, ap Iorwerth told the Senedd: “It is the greatest privilege of my life to be elected first minister in a nation that means so much to me. I’m eager to repay the trust that the people in Wales have placed in us and to achieve the change that people have stated so clearly they wish to see.”

He will lead a minority government, having confirmed last week that he would seek to govern without a formal coalition. With 43 seats, Plaid falls short of the 49 needed for a majority in the 96-seat chamber, meaning ap Iorwerth will need to build support from other parties on a vote-by-vote basis.

The session also confirmed Labour’s Huw Irranca-Davies as the new Presiding Officer — known in Welsh as the Llywydd — with Plaid’s Kerry Ferguson elected as his deputy. The Llywydd chairs Senedd proceedings and is required to remain politically impartial. The previous holder of the role, Plaid Cymru’s Elin Jones, stepped down at this election.

The political landscape ap Iorwerth inherits is dramatically different to any previous Welsh Government. Reform UK came second in the election with 34 seats, Labour were reduced to just nine, the Conservatives won seven, the Greens picked up their first ever two Senedd seats and the Liberal Democrats hold one.

Born in south Wales, ap Iorwerth, 53, grew up on Anglesey and was educated at Ysgol David Hughes before studying politics and Welsh at Cardiff University. A former BBC journalist and married father of three, he entered politics in 2013 when he won a by-election in Ynys Môn.

He took over the leadership of Plaid Cymru in 2023 during a difficult period for the party, after his predecessor Adam Price resigned in the wake of a report finding there was a culture of sexual harassment, bullying and misogyny within the organisation.

Since taking over, he has steadily rebuilt the party’s fortunes — culminating in last week’s historic result. The scale of the victory exceeded most expectations, with Plaid emerging as comfortably the largest party in the Senedd for the first time.

Ap Iorwerth is a supporter of Welsh independence, and has previously said his party would use time in government to make the case for an independent Wales. However he has ruled out holding a referendum during this first term in office.

Welsh Labour’s Mike Hedges has already warned that the new Plaid minority government could face a fresh election as early as next year if it fails to pass its first budget — a significant test for the new administration in its earliest months.

Ken Skates was appointed as interim Welsh Labour leader following the resignation of Eluned Morgan, who lost her seat in the election. Labour now faces a lengthy period of reflection and rebuilding as the official opposition — with just nine seats in a 96-member chamber.

For Wales, the significance of the moment extends beyond party politics. This is the first time since the creation of the Senedd in 1999 that the Welsh Government has not been led by Labour — a shift that marks a fundamental change in the political landscape of the nation.

SENEDD ELECTION: Rhun ap Iorwerth to lead Plaid minority government after historic victory ends 27 years of Labour rule

Rhun ap Iorwerth will lead a minority Plaid Cymru government after the party’s historic victory in the Senedd election brought 27 years of Labour rule to an end.

Plaid won 43 seats in the expanded Senedd — six short of the 49 needed for a majority — with Labour reduced to just nine seats after a catastrophic night for the party.

Speaking outside the Senedd in Cardiff Bay, ap Iorwerth confirmed he would not seek a formal coalition, instead working with other parties on a case-by-case basis to pass legislation and budgets, saying he had spoken with other party leaders and would focus on building stability.

He told reporters he had always believed cooperation would be necessary to “make a reliable difference to the people of Wales,” adding that Plaid would seek what was right for Wales and act with “determination, ambition, and humility.”

“Plaid Cymru is ready to form the next government of Wales,” he told jubilant supporters gathered on the Senedd steps. “We are here as representatives of all of Wales — every community from Môn to Monmouth, from Flint to Tenby, from rural Powys to our bustling cities.”

While a minority government is a first for Plaid, it is not without precedent in Cardiff Bay — Labour itself never won more than half the seats at any Senedd election during its 27 years in power, and regularly governed without a majority.

The party hopes to hold a vote to formally install ap Iorwerth as First Minister on Tuesday, though the process is not entirely straightforward. Before that vote can take place, the Senedd must hold a secret ballot to elect a new presiding officer to replace Elin Jones, who held the post for the outgoing Labour administration.

No formal list of candidates for presiding officer has been confirmed, though Labour’s Huw Irranca-Davies and the Conservatives’ Paul Davies have been among those discussed.

Ken Skates, Member of the Senedd for Fflint Wrecsam, was confirmed on Saturday afternoon as interim leader of Welsh Labour as the party begins to assess its position following its dramatic collapse at the polls. First Minister Eluned Morgan lost her seat and resigned as Welsh Labour leader on election night.

Ap Iorwerth described the election result as “a momentous piece of Welsh history,” telling the gathered crowd it had been built on a century of belief in Wales’s future. “Throughout our nation people have put their faith in Plaid Cymru in numbers never seen before,” he said.

He said the scale of the victory would change Wales’s relationship with Westminster, adding that no UK Prime Minister would now be able to ignore Wales’s needs. “No UK government, no UK minister, now or in the future, can cast Wales aside or turn a blind eye to our needs and our aspirations as a nation,” he said.

Jubilant scenes greeted ap Iorwerth and the new Plaid Senedd members as they arrived on the Senedd steps to cheers and whistles from hundreds of supporters waving red dragon and Owain Glyndŵr flags — scenes one reporter described as more reminiscent of a returning sports team than a political party.

Among those to greet him was former Plaid leader Leanne Wood, whom he stopped to embrace before addressing the crowd.

He ended his speech by inviting all parties to join Plaid in “an alliance” to pursue the mission on behalf of Wales, pledging the new government would bring “the competence that is needed, the compassion that is needed, the hope that is needed.”

“We will do everything we can to repay the faith that people have put in us,” he said. “We will build this nation every single day.”

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Wales’ bus overhaul becomes law as Swansea region first in line for 2027 shake‑up

Wales’ new Bus Services Act has now received Royal Assent, giving ministers sweeping powers to take back control of local bus networks after years of cuts, collapsing operators and shrinking timetables. The Welsh Government says the change marks the start of a complete rebuild of how buses operate across the country — and Southwest Wales will be the first to feel it.

The law was formally sealed in Cardiff by First Minister Eluned Morgan, who said the move sends a clear signal that the days of unreliable, patchwork bus services are numbered.

First Minister Eluned Morgan said:

“This is a historic day for public transport in Wales – it sends out a clear message that we are committed to improving the bus system and delivering better, more reliable services for the people of Wales.”

Swansea region becomes the testing ground

The first rollout in 2027 will cover Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire — an area that has seen repeated route cuts, operator collapses and emergency funding packages just to keep buses on the road.

Under the new system, the public sector will take charge of designing the entire network. Instead of operators deciding which routes they want to run, Transport for Wales will set the timetables, fares and connections, and companies will bid for contracts to operate them.

It’s a complete reversal of the deregulated model that has shaped Welsh buses since the 1980s — and one the Welsh Government argues is essential to stop communities being “cut off”.

Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, Ken Skates, said:

“Today marks a major milestone for bus services in Wales. It’s the beginning of a new era… These changes won’t be seen overnight, it’s going to take time, but we are working closely with the industry and local authorities to plan and deliver bus services to meet the needs of passengers today and for generations to come.”

What franchising actually means for passengers

For decades, bus companies have been free to pick and choose the routes they run. If a service wasn’t profitable, it disappeared — leaving councils scrambling to plug the gaps with dwindling budgets.

Franchising flips that on its head.

Instead of operators calling the shots, Transport for Wales will design a single, joined‑up network, deciding where buses go, how often they run and how they connect with trains. Operators will then compete for contracts to run those routes — similar to the system used in London.

The Welsh Government says this will mean clearer timetables, simpler routes and a network that actually works together, rather than a patchwork of competing companies.

For passengers, the promise is straightforward: more reliable buses, better connections and a system designed around public need, not commercial priorities.

Why the change was needed

The bus network in Wales has been in crisis for years. Operators have folded, routes have vanished and councils have repeatedly warned that entire communities risk losing their only public transport link.

Swansea Bay News has reported extensively on the turmoil — from emergency funding packages to operators collapsing and councils warning that cuts could leave people stranded.

The Welsh Government says the new law is the only way to rebuild a stable, reliable network that doesn’t fall apart every time a company pulls out or a subsidy ends.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said:

“We will use local knowledge to design and plan services that put the voice of the passenger at the heart of their local bus network.”

What happens next

Transport for Wales will now work with councils, unions, operators and the public to design the new franchised network for Southwest Wales ahead of the 2027 launch.

Early proposals published last year showed plans for simpler routes, better interchange points and more direct links between key towns, hospitals and employment sites.

The Welsh Government insists the direction of travel is now set — and that the Swansea region will lead the way in proving whether franchising can finally fix Wales’ broken bus system.

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