Plaid Cymru’s Rhun ap Iorwerth hopes to be first minister on Tuesday1 hour agoAdrian BrowneWales political reporterGetty ImagesRhun ap Iorwerth says he hopes to become the first Plaid Cymru first minister on Tuesday, after its Senedd election victory.Leading the largest Cardiff Bay group, with 43 seats, ap Iorwerth needs to win a vote of Senedd members to be appointed, but Labour’s interim Welsh leader, Ken Skates, has indicated it is unlikely to oppose him.Ap Iowerth told BBC Wales “certainly Tuesday is what we would prefer” but any delay “won’t be much” and Plaid was keen to “hit the ground running”.Skates said the idea of “teaming up with Reform” members to block ap Iorwerth was “deeply unpleasant” for Labour Senedd members but they will make a “final decision” on Monday.Both politicians were speaking on BBC Radio Wales’ Sunday Supplement.Ex-Conservative Senedd leader Paul Davies also confirmed he would like to be the new Llywydd, or speaker of the Senedd.Reform has 34 MSs, Labour just 9, the Conservatives 7, the Green Party 2 and one Liberal Democrat, in an expanded 96-member Welsh Parliament.The result marked the end of Labour’s century-long run of election success in Wales and 27 years of leading Welsh governments.Outgoing First Minister Eluned Morgan lost her seat in the election, and announced she was resigning as Welsh Labour leader.Ap Iorwerth wants Plaid Cymru to govern on its own, rather than seeking to bring another party or parties into his administration.Wales’ new interim Labour leader describes election rout as ‘catastrophic’What does Plaid Cymru’s Rhun ap Iorwerth do next after election victory?He said he was seeking cross-party cooperation and wanted support from across the Senedd.Ap Iorwerth added that he had spoken to all the other party leaders apart from Reform’s Dan Thomas who “didn’t feel like he wanted to speak with me as leader of Plaid Cymru”.The Plaid leader’s suggestion was immediately denied by Reform. Rh ” ” This Pl ” Sk ” ” ” Sk He ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” It ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” She told the program that “we have worked closely with Welsh government.” “I will continue doing that, whoever the party is running the Welsh Government,” she told the programme. “I want to give my best for the people in Wales. “Additional reporting from David Deans and Nelli birdMore top articlesI took one of most famous photos of Aberfan disaster, it still haunts mePlaid wants to run Welsh Government on its own according to leaderPlaid says.Donkeys banned at beach ending 100-year-old traditionWalesRhun Ap IorwerthWelsh parliament election 2026PlaidCymruWelsh Labor
