Throughout the last 25 years of devolution in the UK, one thing has remained consistent: Welsh Labour’s stranglehold on Cardiff Bay. But in recent weeks, the party’s grip on the Senedd has been shaken by a series of controversies, culminating in today’s news that Plaid Cymru is pulling out of their power-sharing agreement. The two parties signed up to the three-year deal in 2021. However the Welsh nationalists have this afternoon withdrawn with immediate effect – seven months before the agreement was due to officially end.
In a statement, Plaid’s leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said he remained ‘deeply concerned’ that the Labour First Minister Vaughan Gething had failed to pay back the controversial £200,000 donation, and was ‘worried by the circumstances’ around the sacking of Welsh minister Hannah Blythyn over alleged leaked Covid-era text messages. He also expressed discomfort at Labour’s approach to parts of the co-operation agreement, including the decision to delay council tax reform.
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