Election

Senedd election, 2026

Plaid Cymru became the largest party in the Senedd for the first time, forming a minority government under Rhun ap Iorwerth.

What happened

At the first election held under the enlarged, 96-seat closed-list system, Plaid Cymru won 43 seats (35.4%, 444,665 votes), Reform UK 34 seats (29.3%, 367,985 votes), Welsh Labour 9 seats (11.1%, 139,203 votes), the Conservatives 7 seats (10.7%), the Greens 2 seats (6.7%) and the Liberal Democrats 1 seat (4.5%).[1][2]

This was the first Senedd or Assembly election at which Plaid Cymru became the largest party, and the first since devolution at which Welsh Labour did not win the most seats.[3] Rhun ap Iorwerth was nominated First Minister on 12 May 2026 and his cabinet appointed the next day, forming a Plaid Cymru minority government and making him the first non-Labour First Minister of Wales.[4]

Plaid Cymru's platform was to undertake preparatory work — citizen engagement and research on constitutional questions — to "lay the foundations for a future White Paper on Welsh independence", without proposing a referendum in that Senedd term.[5]

Sources for this page

Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.

  1. 1.

    Claim: The Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024 increased the number of Senedd Members from 60 to 96, elected from 16 constituencies of six members each by a closed-list proportional system, first used at the 2026 election.

    • Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024 (The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), 2024) link, s. 1 and Sch. 1. Source record
  2. 2.

    Claim: At the Senedd election of 7 May 2026, Plaid Cymru won 43 seats (35.4%, 444,665 votes), Reform UK 34 seats (29.3%, 367,985 votes), Welsh Labour 9 seats (11.1%, 139,203 votes), the Conservatives 7 seats (10.7%), the Greens 2 seats (6.7%) and the Liberal Democrats 1 seat (4.5%).

    • ITV News Wales, Wales Decides 2026: The full results are in for the 2026 Senedd Election (ITV News, 7 May 2026) link, full results table. Source record
  3. 3.

    Claim: This was the first Senedd or Assembly election at which Plaid Cymru became the largest party, and the first at which Welsh Labour did not win the most seats since devolution began.

    • ITV News Wales, Wales Decides 2026: The full results are in for the 2026 Senedd Election (ITV News, 7 May 2026) link, article text. Source record
    • Institute for Government, Welsh elections 2026: Senedd Cymru (Welsh parliament) (Institute for Government) link, summary of the result's significance. Source record
  4. 4.

    Claim: Rhun ap Iorwerth was nominated First Minister of Wales on 12 May 2026, and his cabinet was appointed the following day, forming a Plaid Cymru minority government and making him the first non-Labour First Minister of Wales.

    • ITV News Wales, Rhun ap Iorwerth confirmed as First Minister of Wales (ITV News, May 2026) link, article text. Source record
  5. 5.

    Claim: Plaid Cymru's 2026 platform was to undertake preparatory work — including citizen engagement and research on key constitutional questions — to "lay the foundations for a future White Paper on Welsh independence", while not proposing to hold a referendum in that Senedd term. Attributed to Plaid Cymru, as summarised by the Institute for Government

    • Institute for Government, Welsh independence (Institute for Government) link, summary of Plaid Cymru's position. Source record

Source note

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