Welsh independence has mostly existed at the margins of Welsh politics since the formation of Plaid Cymru in 1925.

In January 2026, a poll conducted by YouGov recorded support for Welsh independence to be running at just 26%.

This came in response to the question: “If there was a referendum tomorrow on Wales becoming an independent country and this was the question, how would you vote? Should Wales be an independent country?”

A total of 54% answered “No”. The “Don’t knows” stood at 12%.

This was largely unchanged from a previous YouGov poll conducted in September 2024, which recorded support for Welsh independence at 24% and opposition as 61%.

In September 2023, YouGov recorded support for independence at 22%, compared to 56% who wished to remain in the UK.

In August 2022, YouGov and the Sunday Times recorded support for independence at 25%, while 53% supported staying in the UK.

Debate around Welsh independence

The Welsh independence movement is generally regarded to have generated less popular support than Irish and Scottish nationalism.

Historically, the translation of Welsh national sentiment into votes has been hampered by the longstanding dominance of the Labour Party in the populous Welsh industrial heartlands.

Plaid Cymru only formally adopted a policy of independence for Wales at its conference in September 2003. Delegates at Plaid Cymru party conference voted to drop the term “full national status” and declare the party’s constitutional aim as “independence”.

In 1999, Dafydd Wigley, the leader of Plaid Cymru, was emphatic that his party had “never ever” demanded independence.

The refusal of leader Ieuan Wyn Jones in 2000 to support the adoption of independence as an objective led to many Plaid Cymru separatists leaving to form Cymru Annibynnol (Independent Wales Party).

Historically, Welsh political nationalism has been focussed on the goal of winning more power from Westminster. During the early part of the 21st century, much of the energy that might have gone into a campaign for independence was channelled into the campaign for greater powers for the Assembly.  It was argued that much of the perceived lack of enthusiasm for devolution shown in the 1997 referendum may have been because of the weak powers proposed for the National Assembly, compared to those proposed for the Scottish Parliament.

The Wales Act 2014 and Wales Act 2017 devolved taxation and borrowing powers to the Senedd.

Unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland, a majority of voters in Wales, like England, also voted  to leave the European Union in the 2016 Brexit referendum.

In 2020, there was some polling evidence to suggest that support for Welsh independence was growing.  The support for Welsh independence went hand in hand with an increase in support in Scotland for independence, and was said to have reflected the increased prominence of the Welsh government in directing a Wales specific response to the 2021/2021 Coronavirus pandemic.

In December 2020, Plaid Cymru’s then leader, Adam Price, stated that if the party won a majority in the 2021 elections to the Senedd Cymru, an independence referendum would be held in Plaid’s first term in office. At a special conference held on independence in February 2021, Plaid’s members formally approved Price’s pledge to hold a referendum by or before 2026.

In the May 2021 elections to the Welsh Senedd, Plaid Cymru recorded a disappointing result, winning just 13 of the 60 seats in the Senedd and polling 20.3% of the  vote (down 0.2% compared to 2016).

Welsh independence – the historical context

Wales was last an independent principality in 1282, when Edward I of England finally defeated the Prince of Wales, Llywelyn the Last, after years of on-off warfare and manoeuvring. Edward named his son as Prince of Wales in 1301 to seal his victory.

The late 13th Century saw a series of unsuccessful revolts against English rule, and from 1400 to 1409, Owain Glyndwr waged a war of independence against England, reclaiming the title Prince of Wales for a time.

However, Wales was not formally incorporated into the English state until the 1536 Act of Union, under Henry VIII. As well as abolishing the power of the local marcher lordships, the Act banned the use of the Welsh language in official proceedings and documents – excluding much of the population from public life. Wales was subjected to English law and permitted to send Members of Parliament to Westminster.

Nonetheless, the Welsh language survived, and throughout the following centuries stood at the heart of Welsh nationalism, supported by a persistent cultural distinctiveness and shared sense of history. The second half of the 19th Century and early 20th Century saw Welsh nationalism, along with many other European nationalisms, begin to grow, generating unsuccessful home rule movements in the 1890s and again in 1910.

But at the same time, industrialisation and the decline of the Welsh language (50 per cent of the population was wholly Welsh-speaking in 1901, compared to 43 per cent by 1911) was thought to be eroding ‘authentic’ Welsh culture itself, to the alarm of the nationalists.

Plaid Cymru: founding and development

On 5 August 1925, during the National Eisteddfod week in Pwllheli, Gwynedd, a group of six Welsh nationalists met to formally establish Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru (The National Party of Wales), later known as Plaid Cymru.

The party emerged from the fusion of two existing nationalist groups: Byddin Ymreolwyr Cymru (Army of Welsh Home Rulers) and Y Mudiad Cymreig (The Welsh Movement). Key figures at the founding meeting included the writer and academic Saunders Lewis, H. R. Jones, Ambrose Bebb, Lewis Valentine, and D. J. Williams.

Valentine was elected as the party’s first president, holding the post until 1926. Lewis served as president from 1926 to 1939.

Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru was unafraid to assert a distinct Welsh cultural and political identity. The setting of the National Eisteddfod, Wales’ premier cultural festival, reflected the party’s initial emphasis on cultural nationalism. The party adopted Welsh as its working language, and aimed to restore Welsh as the primary language of the nation.

In its early years, the party functioned more as a cultural and social pressure group than a conventional electoral machine. Its initial electoral impact was minimal; in the 1929 general election, its candidate in Caernarvonshire, Valentine, polled just 609 votes (1.6%).

Ideologically, the party was a broad church, attracting members from the left, right and centre, as well as both monarchists and republicans. Saunders Lewis, for example, was avowedly anti-socialist.

By the 1930s, the party had adopted the goal of securing self-government for Wales, or ‘dominion status’, akin to that achieved by the Irish Free State in 1922.

A defining moment for the party arrived in 1936 with the Tân yn Llŷn (Fire in Llŷn) incident. The British government, led by Stanley Baldwin, decided to build an RAF air base on the Llŷn Peninsula despite widespread protests. On 8 September 1936, Lewis, Valentine and Williams claimed responsibility for setting fire to the site. They were sentenced to nine months in prison.

The episode became a cause célèbre, heightening the party’s profile.

Speaking in court, Lewis defended the collective’s actions as “forced upon us… in obedience to conscience and to the moral law”.

He said his primary motive was the preservation of the Llŷn peninsula as “an essential focus of this Welsh culture.”

Lewis likened the “English government’s behaviour” to that of, in his conception of the world, “the behaviour of this new anti-Christ throughout Europe”.

He declared: “If you find us guilty the world will understand that here also in Wales an English government may destroy the moral person of a nation, may shatter the spiritual basis of that nation’s life, may refuse to consider or give heed to any appeal even from the united religious leaders of the whole country, and then may use the law to punish with imprisonment the men who put those monstrous claims of anti-Christ to the test.”

Plaid Cymru officially adopted a neutral stance during the Second World War – partly on account of its pacifistic elements, partly due to its opposition to the British state.

However, while the party was associated with conscientious objection, several members – including leading figures like Bebb – were outspoken in their support for the war.

Lewis’ antisemitism and apparent praise for Hitler became targets for the party’s opponents.

The British state is said to have monitored Plaid Cymru’s activities during the war.

In 1943, Lewis contested the University of Wales parliamentary seat at a by-election. He won 1,330 votes, or 22%. Gwenan Jones, the first woman to stand for Plaid Cymru in a general election, won 1,696 votes in the same University of Wales constituency two years later.

Carmarthen by-election (1966)

On 14 July 1966, Plaid Cymru achieved its first-ever parliamentary breakthrough when its president, Gwynfor Evans, won the Carmarthen by-election, overturning a substantial Labour majority.

The by-election was called following the death of the long-serving Labour MP, Lady Megan Lloyd George, daughter of the former Liberal prime minister. Carmarthen had been considered a relatively safe Labour seat, held by Lady Megan since 1957, and Harold Wilson’s Labour government had secured a landslide national victory just four months earlier. Labour fielded Gwilym Prys Davies, a Welsh-speaking solicitor and former member of Plaid Cymru.

Evans, president of Plaid Cymru since 1945, focused his campaign on the perceived neglect of Wales by successive governments. The slogans “For a better Wales” and “For work in Wales” were respectively targeted at rural and industrial portions of the constituency.

Another slogan urged voters to “vote for a free Wales”.

Evans previously stood in Carmarthen at the 1964 and 1966 general elections, coming third on both occasions. He finished 13,805 votes behind Megan Lloyd George in the 1966 general election.

As such, the July 1966 by-election produced a political earthquake. Evans secured 16,179 votes (39.0%), defeating Labour’s Gwilym Davies (13,743 votes, 33.1%) with a majority of 2,436. The swing from Labour to Plaid Cymru was a significant 12.0 points.

The Liberal candidate polled 20.8%, while the Conservative trailed with just 7.2%.

Evans’s victory was a watershed moment for Plaid Cymru. It marked the arrival of Welsh nationalism as a significant electoral force, and provided a major boost for the Welsh language movement. The Welsh Language Act 1967 followed months later.

Upon arriving in Westminster on 21 July, Evans requested to take the oath of allegiance in the Welsh language “in view of the great national awakening” exhibited in Carmarthen.

The commons speaker, Horace King, responded that MPs should “address the House in English” referring to page 441 of Erskine May, the authoritative account of parliamentary procedure.

King stated: “The purpose of the rule is not to elevate the English tongue above others, but to ensure that the valuable contributions to debate which all honourable members make can be understood by the others.”

Evans protested.

He told the House: “May I say that this parliament is the only parliament that Wales has, that Wales is a nation with a national language that has been spoken there for nearly 2,000 years and that the people of Wales will regard it as an affront if that language cannot be spoken now in this House at least to take the oath?”

Labour MP Emrys Hughes cited the case of Charles Bradlaugh, who was repeatedly barred from parliament in the 19th century on account of his atheism, as evidence that the speaker should not always follow precedent in such matters.

The leader of the House of Commons, Herbert Bowden, intervened to suggest a select committee should consider the matter. “Perhaps this is an issue which we can consider sympathetically”, he stated.

Evans, denied the chance to take the oath in Welsh, delivered his maiden speech on 26 July.

Addressing the House, the Plaid Cymru MP argued that “governments at Westminster equate Britain with England that the impact of their policies on Wales is not considered.”

Evans stated that the Welsh nation should instead “be living with the dignity and fullness which the Scandinavian nations enjoy”.

He declared: “We had evidence in this chamber… that the English order has no place in it for a living Welsh nation. The rules of this English parliament prevent even the taking of the oath in the Welsh language.”

He suggested that the policy of successive governments to “assimilate the Welsh people” had reduced his nation “to ruin”.

Evans concluded: “Let Wales have the institutions of nationhood. Let Wales live like a nation and act like a nation. Today, she can do nothing for herself. She cannot even build a road for herself. She has no power of action, no power of decision or choice, and no freedom.

“Let the people of Wales be free to act for themselves and live their own lives rooted in the traditions of millennia, and rooted in their Christian values.”

Following the February 1974 election, members were permitted to take the oath in Welsh. Several MPs did so – but Evans was not among them. He lost his seat at the 1970 election and failed to regain it at the first time of asking.

Evans returned to parliament as the MP for Carmarthen at the October 1974 general election, when he took the oath in Welsh, serving until 1979. He failed to secure his return at the 1979 and 1983 general elections.

In 1980, Evans pledged to “fast to the death” if Thatcher’s new Conservative government r did not reverse its opposition to a Welsh language television channel.

On this occasion, the lady was for turning.

Evans stepped down as Plaid Cymru president in 1981.

Kilbrandon commission and devolution proposals

Plaid Cymru’s Carmarthen breakthrough in 1966 – considered alongside the Scottish National Party’s success in Hamilton (1967) – led to the establishment of the Royal Commission on the Constitution (the Kilbrandon Commission) by the Labour government in 1969. The commission’s work constituted the first major study of the constitutional challenges posed by multi-national governance and rising national consciousness.

Its terms of reference required it to examine “the present functions of the legislature and government in relation to the several countries, nations and regions of the United Kingdom” and to consider “whether any changes are desirable in those functions or in existing constitutional and economic relationships.”

The report, published in October 1973 after a four-year inquiry, recommended legislative devolution for Scotland and Wales in the form of 100-member assemblies, elected for four-year fixed terms under the single transferable vote (STV) system. The number of Scottish and Welsh MPs at Westminster would be reduced from 71 to 51 and 36 to 31 respectively.

The February 1974 election saw a surge in support for the nationalist parties. The SNP’s representation rose from one seat to seven seats; its share of the vote doubled to 21.9%. Plaid Cymru won seats (two) for the first time at a general election.

Harold Wilson returned to power as prime minister leading a minority Labour government, dependent on the support of smaller parties.

In September 1974, Wilson’s government published a white paper entitled Democracy and Devolution: Proposals for Scotland and Wales, putting forward proposals based on the Kilbrandon commission.

The October 1974 election returned Wilson’s government with a small majority, which withered over the course of the parliament.

James Callaghan, who succeeded Wilson as prime minister in 1976, introduced the Scotland Act 1978 and the Wales Act 1978 – both of which provided for the establishment of devolved assemblies, subject to post-legislative referenda.

On 13 December 1976, Callaghan introduced the Scotland and Wales Bill (before the legislation was split in two) at second reading. He told MPs that the “origins of the bill can be found in the royal commission on the constitution, which was set up seven years ago.”

Callaghan argued that devolution was a necessary response to the “movement of popular will”.

This legislation also coincided with a marked shift in parliamentary arithmetic. With the loss of its commons majority, Labour once again relied on smaller parties to prop up the government.

The bills, however, did not accept Kilbrandon’s recommendation on reducing the number of Scottish and Welsh MPs at Westminster. The devolution schemes also differed on the electoral system; the proposed assemblies would be elected under the first past the post system as opposed to STV.

The Callaghan government mostly embraced devolution, but the Labour Party at large was divided.

In Wales, the anti-devolution position was subscribed to by prominent Labour figures, including future leader Neil Kinnock. They argued that a Welsh assembly would be an expensive, unnecessary layer of bureaucracy and a danger to the unity of the United Kingdom.

These MPs also capitalised on fears of distrust between various areas and social groups.

Leo Abse was a prominent figure in the “gang of six” of Welsh Labour MPs who opposed devolution. The Labour MP for Torfaen, Abse claimed that an assembly would lead to the dominance of the Welsh language in public life.

Speaking in a 1976 commons debate, he said: “There may be too few passengers on the new Swansea to Paddington Inter-City expresses, but there will be a packed gravy train steaming out of the Cardiff City Exchange, and most of Wales knows that no carriages will be fuller than the first-class coaches marked ‘For Welsh speakers only’.

In 1978, Kinnock claimed that children in Anglesey were being prevented from going to the toilet unless they asked in Welsh – which he referred to as “linguistic racialism”.

Debating Plaid Cymru’s Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Kinnock said he could “take the honourable gentleman to a school in Anglesey – I shall not mention the name of the village because it has only one school – in which children of five or six have to ask in Welsh to go to the lavatory or suffer the consequences.”

In Scotland, Tam Dalyell served as de facto leader of Labour’s anti-devolutionist tendency. He famously posed the “West Lothian question” (so-called after his constituency), which referred to the perceived imbalance between the voting rights in the House of Commons of MPs from Scottish and Welsh constituencies that would arise with devolution.

In other words, under devolution, MPs from Scotland and Wales could vote on issues affecting only England, while English MPs could not vote on matters devolved to Scotland or Wales.

The Wales Act, alongside the Scotland Act, received royal assent on 31 July 1978. Both pieces of legislation included a requirement for post-legislative referenda.

The first Welsh devolution referendum (1979)

The Welsh devolution referendum held on 1 March 1979 saw voters in Wales decisively rejected the proposal to establish a devolved Welsh assembly, with the ‘No’ campaign winning by a margin of four to one.

The question put was as follows: “Do you want the provisions of the Wales Act 1978 to be put into effect?”

The referendum was held on St David’s Day 1979 – a fact Conservative MP Nicholas Edwards suggested was intended “to create a wave of patriotic enthusiasm, to build up an Arms Park atmosphere and to smother fact and argument in a simple appeal to Welsh loyalty”.

In the end, the referendum saw 79.7% of voters reject the proposal, with only 20.3% voting in favour. The turnout was 58.8%. Unlike in Scotland, the result was not subject to any ambiguity from the so-called ‘40% rule’ – set out in successful amendments to the Scotland and Wales acts, which required 40% of the total registered electorate to vote ‘Yes’ for the Act to be implemented. The ‘No’ vote was absolute.

The campaign for a ‘Yes’ vote struggled to gain momentum and was damaged by deep divisions within the Labour Party, the dominant political force in Wales at the time.

A powerful, cross-party ‘No’ campaign, which included prominent Labour figures, argued that a Welsh assembly would be an expensive, unnecessary layer of bureaucracy and a danger to the unity of the United Kingdom. It also capitalised on distrust between various areas and social groups.

The scale of the referendum defeat was a profound setback for Plaid Cymru and advocates of Welsh devolution.

The then-Welsh secretary, John Morris, commented that when “you see an elephant on the doorstep you can’t ignore it”.

In his memoir, Time and Chance, James Callaghan noted: “[The referendum was] held on St David’s Day, for John Morris… had hoped the compliment would strike a patriotic chord in Welsh hearts. But the valleys were dead to the sound of our music and rejected the blandishments by a huge majority of four to one.”

The second Welsh devolution referendum (1997)

The 1979 referendum result sidelined the devolution issue in the immediate term. In the following decades, however, the cause was sustained by the growing strength of Labour’s pro‑devolution tendency, the policies of Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government, and the ability of Plaid Cymru to maintain its parliamentary standing.

Kinnock’s vehement opposition to devolution subsided during his tenure as Labour leader.

From 1987 to 1997, four English MPs held the post of secretary of state for Wales. Among them was John Redwood, a prominent Thatcherite, who faced widespread criticism for his unsuccessful attempt to mime the Welsh national anthem at the 1993 Welsh Conservative Party conference.

The strength of Labour’s pro-devolution tendency ensured the inclusion of commitments to establish legislatures in Wales and Scotland in the Labour Party’s 1997 general election manifesto.

The party’s 1997 manifesto stated: “The United Kingdom is a partnership enriched by distinct national identities and traditions. Scotland has its own systems of education, law and local government. Wales has its language and cultural traditions. We will meet the demand for decentralisation of power to Scotland and Wales, once established in referendums.”

On 18 September 1997, voters in Wales narrowly approved the creation of a national assembly. The second Welsh devolution referendum, a key pledge of Tony Blair’s new Labour government, produced a ‘Yes’ vote of 50.3% (559,419 votes) versus 49.7% (552,698 votes).

The victory, secured by a majority of only 6,721 votes on a turnout of 50.2%, effectively reversed the overwhelming ‘No’ vote in the first referendum in 1979.

The 1997 campaign, Yes for Wales, was led by the Welsh secretary Ron Davies. It brought together Labour, Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrat politicians. The campaign argued that a Welsh assembly would provide Wales with a stronger voice and greater control over its domestic affairs.

The Conservative Party, which had been wiped out in Wales at the general election, led the Just Say NO campaign. Anti-devolution activists argued that an assembly would be an expensive “talking shop” and threaten the unity of the UK.

The campaign claimed the assembly would cost in the region of £50 million. This figure was first advanced by William Hague during his tenure at the Wales Office.

Unsurprisingly, the ‘No’ campaign was hampered by the fact that no Welsh MPs rallied to the cause. It stood in stark contrast to the extremely effective anti-devolution operation in 1979.

The referendum ballot papers featured two statements, both written in English and Welsh, beneath a neutral preamble.

The ballots read: “Parliament has decided to consult people in Wales on the Government’s proposals for a Welsh Assembly / Mae’r Senedd wedi penderfynu ymgynghori pobl yng Nghymru ar gynigion y Llywodraeth ar gyfer Cynulliad i Gymru.”

Voters then checked one of the following options: “I agree there should be a Welsh Assembly / Yr wyf yn cytuno y dylid cael Cynulliad i Gymru” or “I do not agree there should be a Welsh Assembly / Nid wyf yn cytuno y dylid cael Cynulliad i Gymru”.

In the end, support for devolution was strongest in the Welsh-speaking areas of the west and the traditional Labour heartlands of the South Wales Valleys. Most of rural and north-east Wales voted ‘No’.

The creation and evolution of the National Assembly for Wales/Senedd

The 1997 referendum led directly to the passage of the Government of Wales Act 1998. The devolution scheme was a ‘mixed-member’ 60-member body (40 members were elected by first past the post and 20 from a party list to ensure proportionality).

The Welsh devolution settlement was ultimately more limited than that established in Scotland. The Welsh assembly, endorsed by a slender majority of voters, acquired the executive functions of the former Welsh Office. By contrast, voters in Scotland endorsed a tax-raising parliament by an overwhelming majority.

As secretary of state for Wales, Ron Davies steered the Government of Wales Act through parliament. Then, on 19 September 1998, Davies secured the Labour Party’s nomination for the post of first secretary, defeating his rival Rhodri Morgan with 68% of the vote.

However, mere weeks later on 27 October, Davies mysteriously resigned as secretary of state for Wales. His sudden departure, the first from Tony Blair’s cabinet, was triggered by an undisclosed incident described by Davies himself as a “moment of madness”.

On 29 October, Davies stood down as the Labour nominee for the Welsh first secretary post.

Alun Michael was appointed as the new secretary of state for Wales. In the 1999 Welsh Labour leadership contest, Michael was elected as the party’s nominee for the position of first secretary in the new assembly.

In the first elections to the new assembly, held in 1999, Labour won 28 seats out of 69. Plaid Cymru placed second winning 17 seats. The National Assembly for Wales was convened for the first time in May 1999. Michael subsequently emerged as first secretary of Wales.

Over time, Welsh devolution has evolved. The assembly acquired primary legislative powers following a further referendum in 2011.

In 2011, 63.5% of voters were in favour of further powers to the assembly (the same percentage that voted in favour of tax-raising powers for a Scottish parliament in 1997).

The Wales Act 2014 devolved fiscal powers to the assembly for the first time. These powers were buttressed by the Wales Act 2017.

The Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020 renamed the assembly as the Senedd Cymru (Welsh parliament).

The operation of the Senedd/National Assembly for Wales

The Senedd/assembly has consistently operated without a single-party majority, necessitating various formal and informal political arrangements.

Following the inaugural 1999 election, Michael led a minority Labour administration. His successor, Rhodri Morgan, formed a “Coalition Partnership” with the Welsh Liberal Democrats in October 2000. This agreement saw Liberal Democrat leader Michael German appointed as deputy first minister and minister for economic development, while fellow Liberal Democrat Jenny Randerson served as minister for culture. The partnership lasted until the 2003 election.

The 2007 election resulted in a significant shift. The “One Wales” coalition between the Labour Party and Plaid Cymru provided a majority in the Senedd from 2007 to 2011. Under the agreement, Plaid Cymru leader Ieuan Wyn Jones was made deputy first minister, serving under Labour’s Rhodri Morgan as first minister (and later Carwyn Jones). In total, three Plaid Cymru members sat in the cabinet as full ministers, including Jones, Elin Jones (rural affairs), and Rhodri Glyn Thomas (heritage).

From December 2021 until May 2024, the Welsh Labour government operated with support from Plaid Cymru through a formal “co-operation agreement”. Unlike a formal coalition, Plaid Cymru remained in opposition and did not take up ministerial seats in the cabinet. Instead, the parties worked together on 46 specific policy areas, including free school meals and Senedd reform. Plaid appointed special advisers to serve in the offices of the Welsh government.

At the time, Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price said his party was “transforming itself from a traditional opposition party in the Westminster sense to something new and refreshingly different, a co-opposition party, co-operating where possible, while continuing to oppose, and to scrutinise and criticise where necessary”.

Price resigned as Plaid Cymru leader on 10 May 2023 following the publication of a report entitled Prosiect Pawb, which found a culture of harassment, bullying and misogyny within the party. Rhun ap Iorwerth, who served as Plaid Cymru’s deputy leader from 2018 to 2023, vowed to make the organisation a “welcoming party where everyone feels safe”.

Rhun ap Iorwerth, who had challenged the incumbent leader Leanne Wood (Price’s predecessor) in a 2018 contest, stood unopposed in the 2023 election.

In January 2024, ap Iorwerth told Sky News that it is “not useful” to put a date on Welsh independence.

He added: “I’d go independent tomorrow because I am convinced, but it really isn’t about what I think. It’s about the journey that we’re on, with the people of Wales, the citizens of Wales, being in the driving seat.”

In May 2024, Plaid Cymru withdrew from its co-operation agreement with Welsh Labour. Ap Iorwerth said the decision was related to controversies surrounding the new first minister, Vaughan Gething, and what he called “a significant lack of judgement.” Gething ultimately resigned as first minister in July 2024, only four months after taking the job, after questions arose over a £200,000 campaign donation from a businessman convicted of environmental offences.

Gething, who denied any wrongdoing, was succeeded by Eluned Morgan.

Some months later in the 2025 Caerphilly by-election, Plaid Cymru emerged as victorious. Lindsay Whittle, the Plaid Cymru candidate, was elected to the Senedd with 15,961 votes (47.4%) – a majority of 3,848 over the Reform UK candidate in second place. Labour was reduced to a poor third with just 11.0% of the vote.

In his foreword to the Plaid Cymru manifesto for the 2026 Senedd Cymru election, Ap Iorwerth described the contest as the “most important since the dawn of devolution.”

He stated: “I am proud to present this Plaid Cymru manifesto, our plan for a modern, confident Wales – a Wales where all our people and communities can contribute to and share in our nation’s success.

“Plaid Cymru stands ready to form a new Welsh government with energy and a real determination to get to grips with the issues that matter to you. And we are clear on the most immediate priorities.”

The first Plaid Cymru first minister

On 12 May 2026, Ap Iorwerth was elected and sworn in as the new first minister of Wales. Ap Iorwerth’s confirmation formally ended 27 years of continuous Labour-led devolved governments.

Ap Iorwerth’s elevation followed the 2026 Senedd elections on 7 May, in which Plaid Cymru secured 43 seats. (Ap Iorwerth succeeded Price as Plaid Cymru leader in 2023). Reform UK emerged as the official opposition with 34 seats, while Welsh Labour was reduced to just nine members.

Eluned Morgan, the incumbent first minister, lost her seat. She became the first head of government to lose their seat in an election in British history as Labour’s century-long electoral dominance in Wales was ended. Labour’s defeat sent shockwaves through the British politics system. Over the following days, over 90 MPs called for the prime minister, Keir Starmer, to step down.

The results placed Plaid Cymru in a comfortable position to form a minority government.

The 2026 election was also the first held since a series of reforms came into force under Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024.

Ap Iorwerth was nominated as the new first minister of Wales on 12 May in a historic roll call vote. He received the support of 44 MSs (42 from Plaid Cymru and two from the Green Party). Dan Thomas, the Welsh leader of Reform UK, received 34 votes, and Darren Millar of the Conservatives received seven.

In his speech following the Senedd vote, Ap Iorwerth said it was the “greatest privilege of my life to be elected first minister of the nation that means so much to me.” He paid tribute to his predecessor, Morgan, for her “resilience and determination”.

Ap Iorwerth quipped that he would soon learn whether asking questions “was, in fact, much more fun than answering them.”

The new first minister added: “Something has stirred in the soul of Wales – a new confidence, a new hope, a new, broader horizon, never to be narrowed again by the naysayers with other priorities in other places.

“From this historic moment onwards, every person in every part of our nation can know that the government of Wales is their government. And they will know that their government does not and will not impose on itself, or on our citizens, any limits on what our nation can achieve.”