Plaid Cymru Wins Welsh Senedd Election as Labour Loses Majority

Voters in Wales ended Labour’s century-long control of the Senedd in an election held on Thursday. Plaid Cymru won 43 of the 96 seats in the newly enlarged legislature while Reform UK took 34 seats, having held none before. Labour was left with nine seats.

The shift followed an earlier sign of change in Caerphilly in October when Plaid Cymru won a Senedd by-election in the former mining town and Reform UK placed ahead of Labour, whose support had fallen sharply. In the general election, no Labour members were elected from the Caerphilly area.

Instead the constituency sent three Reform UK and three Plaid Cymru members to Cardiff Bay. Several voters interviewed in Caerphilly cited immigration and dissatisfaction with public services as reasons for their choices. One self-employed builder in his sixties said his friends had switched from Labour to Plaid Cymru in a tactical effort to prevent Reform UK from gaining seats.

A 59-year-old laboratory analyst who had always voted Labour said she also voted Plaid Cymru to keep Reform UK out while describing the main parties as a poor show lately. The same voter said she was not a strong supporter of the current UK prime minister and believed stronger leadership was needed.

She added that the NHS remained in a poor state and that immigration had not been managed with sensible controls, which she said had pushed some voters toward Reform UK. A 72-year-old retired construction worker said he voted for Reform UK because of illegal immigration.

The party had campaigned on ending the Welsh government’s Nation of Sanctuary policy, which supports the integration of refugees and asylum seekers sent to Wales by the UK government. He criticised laws passed by the Senedd including the 20 mph speed limit, minimum alcohol pricing and restrictions on promoting unhealthy foods, describing them as brutal and oppressive.

An 82-year-old resident waiting for a bus near Caerphilly castle said he continued to support Labour because Plaid Cymru and Reform UK lacked sufficient knowledge of governance. He said two years was not enough time for Labour to address problems left by the previous UK government and that he would never vote for Reform UK.

A 64-year-old county court bailiff said he did not vote because he had lost faith in politicians. He cited concerns about immigration, the state of the NHS and economic pressures on younger generations. Turnout for the Senedd election rose to 51.6 percent from 46.6 percent in 2021 but remained below the 68.6 percent recorded in Wales for the 2017 UK general election.

Background to the Result Labour had held dominant positions in Welsh elections for more than 100 years before Thursday’s outcome. The Senedd expansion changed the total number of seats to 96. Reform UK’s entry into the legislature marks the first time the party has secured representation at the devolved level in Wales.

Interviewed residents pointed to different priorities.

Some focused on tactical voting against one party while others emphasised border controls and opposition to specific regulations passed in Cardiff. One voter planning to attend a rally in London organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, said last year’s event had not involved racialism and drew people from former mining communities.