Plaid Cymru is the biggest party in the Welsh Parliament following a catastrophic defeat for Labour, which saw First Minister Baroness Eluned Morgan lose her own seat.
Lady Morgan warned that Sir Keir Starmer’s Government needs to “change course” after she resigned as leader of Welsh Labour on failing to be re-elected to the Senedd.
With all votes counted, Plaid have 43 seats, Reform UK 34, Labour nine, the Welsh Conservatives seven, Greens two and one Liberal Democrat. The turnout of 51.6% was the highest in Senedd history.
Rhun ap Iorwerth, leader of Plaid Cymru, told a press conference that his party “stands ready to take the necessary steps to form the next Government of Wales”, having won the most seats.
The party did not win an overall majority, with Mr ap Iorwerth saying he intends to “reach out to others” with urgency and put his name forward to be nominated as the next first minister.
He said: “I’m grateful to everybody that took part in this election, and yes, different voices are represented in that overall result.
“But based on that vote, Plaid Cymru now stands ready to take the necessary steps to form the next government of Wales.”
He added: “This is a moment 100 years in the making, a moment in which we hold the promise and ambition of a nation in our hands, the promise of fairness, of opportunity, of prosperity, of a nation determined in its ambition and uncompromising in its compassion.”
He continued: “I will end with these words: Our nation deserves a government that will work with relentless determination to deliver on the things that matter most to you.
“We now focus on that task, and we do this for Wales. Dros Cymru. Diolch yn fawr.”
While Lady Morgan accepted responsibility for the Welsh result, she took a parting shot at Sir Keir’s Government, calling for them to change course amid a disastrous set of election results for Labour across Wales and in councils in England.
Lady Morgan losing her seat marks the first time a sitting Welsh leader has lost an election in the Welsh Parliament, and is one of many results across Britain that will add to growing pressure on the Government in Westminster.
Labour has led Wales since the Senedd was first established as the National Assembly for Wales in 1999, and has been the largest party in the country for more than a century.
The Prime Minister paid tribute to Lady Morgan as a “formidable First Minister and tireless champion for Wales”.
In a speech announcing her resignation as Welsh Labour leader at an election count in West Wales, Lady Morgan said: “It is clear that results across the whole of the United Kingdom have demonstrated deep frustration with the Labour Party.
“We need to go back to being the party of the working-class. We need the Labour Government nationally to change course. We need the wealth of this nation to be more equally distributed away from the South East.
“But I was always clear that this election was about Wales, and Keir Starmer was not on the ballot. I am taking responsibility, and I am resigning.”
She also said she was proud to have been Wales’ first woman first minister, and said there were “no simple answers, and the budgets are limited”, in what appeared to be a criticism of her political rivals’ platforms for Welsh government.
Lady Morgan added: “We all understand the anger, but Wales is stronger when we stand together. We need to heed the anger, not feed the anger.”
The Prime Minister is understood to have spoken to Lady Morgan on Friday afternoon.
Sir Keir said: “Eluned Morgan has been a formidable First Minister and tireless champion for Wales.
“She broke barriers and has never stopped fighting for families in the communities she loves.
“Together, we have worked to lift children out of poverty, cut hospital waiting lists, and create thousands of new jobs.”
Elsewhere, Reform and Plaid Cymru performed strongly as the results of the ballot emerged.
Dan Thomas, Reform’s leader in Wales, won a seat in the Casnewydd Islwyn constituency, while Rhun ap Iorwerth, the Plaid Cymru leader, will return to the Senedd for the new Bangor Conwy Mon constituency.
Plaid are now on course to be the largest party in the new Senedd, but will likely fall short of a majority in the Welsh Parliament.
“The people of Wales have had their say and they have voted for Plaid Cymru’s positive vision for Wales,” a Plaid Cymru spokesperson said.
Labour believes it will only hold 10 seats in the new Senedd once all votes are counted.
Under the new voting system in Wales, there are 16 constituencies, each represented by six members of the Senedd – resulting in a total of 96 being elected.
Before the election, Labour held 29 seats in the Senedd, just under half of the 60. Ten members under the new system would see them have about a tenth.
Elin Jones, the former presiding officer of the Senedd, paid tribute to the outgoing First Minister.
She said: “I want to thank Eluned Morgan for her service as first minister to our country. No-one will ever take away from Eluned that she was this country’s first ever female first minister.”
Ms Jones is now the longest-running member of the Senedd and the final politician to remain in post, having been elected in the inaugural 1999 election.
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