Latest news with #SeneddElections
South Wales Argus
26-05-2025
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Councillor invites Mark Drakefore to visit Blackwood
Independent councillor Kevin Etheridge extended the invitation following the announcement of a review of business rates by finance minister Mark Drakeford. Mr Drakeford unveiled plans to cut business rates for around 13,000 smaller 'bricks and mortar' shops while raising the amount payable for higher value properties. He also launched a 12-week consultation on proposals to adjust the multipliers for business rates, which are officially known as non-domestic rates. More: Newport leading way in new industrial revolution In a letter to Mr Drakeford, Mr Etheridge said: "You will be aware that many of our towns are suffering because of the high business rates, and over the last several years I have constantly received queries." He also asked for clarification on several points regarding the review, including how the recalculation will work, whether there will be an appeals procedure if banding is disagreed with, and how the lower and higher multiplier will be calculated. More: Landlords of pub ban under 25s on busy nights because they cannot behave He also asked for a definition of small and medium retail shops, who decided on the rateable value below £51,000 and more than £100,000, and whether preference and priority will be given to traders on the high street. Mr Etheridge also asked whether the proposals can be amended if there is a change of government at the Senedd Elections in May 2026, and whether the Senedd has set up a financial working party to investigate these matters.
The Independent
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Conservative leaders will not rule out deals with Reform and Plaid in Wales
Conservative Party leaders have not ruled out doing deals with Reform UK or Plaid Cymru following next year's Senedd elections in Wales. Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, and Darren Millar, her Welsh counterpart, have kept the option of working with other parties to form the next Welsh government on the table. The Conservatives are preparing for the Senedd election in May next year, which will be the first held under a new proportional voting system. While Ms Badenoch previously ruled out working with Reform at a UK level, she has not objected to local coalitions. Speaking to the PA news agency at the Welsh Conservative Conference in Llangollen on Friday, the party leader declined to rule out working with Plaid or Reform in Wales. She said: 'I keep getting asked about coalitions and deals, and I don't answer that question, because I think once you start talking about coalitions and deals, what the public hears is a 'stitch-up'. 'I need to say what the Conservative way is, what our offer is, let's wait until the election before we start talking about coalitions and deals. 'We're not stitching anything up. What we're doing is working as hard as we can for the people of this country.' Mr Millar, in a separate interview, added: 'I've made it clear that I will work with anybody in the national interest to get rid of this clapped out Labour government, that is what I am prepared to do, because it's in the national interest to see the back of them. 'I am determined to get the Conservatives into government in Wales. That is my mission.' The comments come as the party faces a difficult race in Wales, with a recent YouGov poll putting the Welsh Tories in fourth place on 13% at the next election, behind Plaid Cymru, Reform UK and Labour. Mr Millar said the polling had motivated him to 'work my socks off' to win back voters. He said: 'I think that if we can enthuse people, put some hope in their hearts, demonstrate what we would do as a credible alternative government, and if they consider the options available to them. 'There's no point in voting Plaid, there's no point in voting for the Liberal Democrats, because all they've done it prop the Labour Party up and who on earth would take a risk with Reform, it's a limited company, not a political party, without any credible, realistic policies.' He added: 'I'm determined to get as many seats in that next Senedd as possible, and it is perfectly possible for us to be the largest party in that Senedd, I believe, under the new voting system. 'And that's what I'm determined to do.' Last week, Plaid Cymru's leader Rhun ap Iorwerth, ruled out working with Reform to form the next Welsh government and said he could not see a 'formal relationship with the Conservatives'.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Reform UK: Nigel Farage rules out standing in Senedd election
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he will not be a candidate in next year's Senedd elections, and has no long term plan to lead the party in MP for Clacton, in Essex, said he would lead Reform into the campaign for next May's poll until a Welsh leader has been chosen to take if he wanted to lead the party in Wales, he said: "I'm not Welsh, so it's not going to be me."Under the Welsh Parliament's rules, an MP would have to stand down from the UK Parliament if they were to become a Member of the Senedd (MS). Speaking to ITV Cymru's Sharp End programme, the Reform leader said the goal was to win the most seats in next May's election to the Welsh polls have shown Labour, Plaid Cymru and Reform to be neck and neck, with one last week suggesting Plaid Cymru were pulling ahead, and Farage's party leap-frogging Labour into second have suggested that Reform's success was largely from Conservative supporters shifting their vote, but Farage told ITV Cymru Wales that his party was hoping to bring across Labour voters too."I've got evidence from strong Labour areas in England that on 1 May what happened was people were motivated to go out and vote Reform, turnouts were higher than people thought they were going to be."What we have do in Wales is to say to people, if you really, really want change, you've got to vote for that change, and it's up to us to articulate clearly what that vision is."He added: "The national elections in Wales are our priority."We intend to come first... we're going to fight to win." Reform UK currently does not have a leader in Wales and has no members in the asked if he would be a candidate for the Senedd elections and potential first minister, Farage ruled that out: "I'm not Welsh so it's not going to be me, all right? We are a very, very new party."Farage said he would initially lead the election campaign, saying he would "kick it off absolutely".Asked if he would be a candidate in the election so that he could be allowed to take part in televised election debates, Farage said: "No, I don't intend to do that, that would be playing the game in the most cynical way and I'm not going to do it."Voters will go to the polls for the Senedd elections on 7 May 2026, when the number of MSs will be expanded from 60 to will be 16 constituencies each electing 6 is thought that the new voting system will see Reform MSs elected for the first time to the Welsh Parliament.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Welsh nationalist leader: IndyRef ‘could happen in our lifetime'
A referendum on Welsh independence could 'absolutely' be held within 'our lifetime', Plaid Cymru's leader has said. Rhun ap Iorwerth did not shy away from suggesting his party may be the leading political force in Wales following a poll that predicts Plaid will have the largest vote share in the 2026 Senedd elections. Plaid is projected to be the largest party in the Senedd following the outcome of the election, with around 30 per cent of votes and 35 seats in the Siambr, according to a YouGov poll published on Tuesday. Nigel Farage's Reform UK would be the second largest party, with 25 per cent of votes, according to the poll. The Plaid leader ruled out holding a referendum on Wales leaving the UK in the first term of a Plaid-led Welsh government, when speaking to the BBC's Walescast this week. He has previously declined to put a timeline on a referendum, after Plaid's last leader Adam Price promised such a vote within five years. But Mr ap Iorwerth told the PA news agency a referendum could form part of a Plaid government's platform for the future, once it has built trust with the Welsh electorate. 'The key thing is it's up to the people of Wales. And I've many times said that I would have independence tomorrow, but it's not what I think that matters,' Mr ap Iorwerth told the Press Association. 'It's what the people of Wales believe, and I absolutely think we can have that referendum and set us off on a different direction as a country within our lifetime,' he added. Should Plaid pursue such a referendum in future, it would be likely to need support from other parties in Cardiff Bay and at Westminster, which is unlikely to be forthcoming. Plaid would focus on 'deep problems within the NHS in Wales', as well as education, economic stagnation and poverty, should it be the party that leads the next Welsh government, Mr ap Iorwerth said. The next Senedd election will see Welsh voters use a new proportional system to choose their representatives. Some 49 seats will be required for an outright majority, with the Senedd being expanded to 96 members. The previous system had an 'in-built bias towards Labour', the Plaid leader said. Mr ap Iorwerth added: 'That changes with the new electoral system that we have in Wales, and it's a genuine case that wherever people are in Wales, the votes that they cast will contribute towards who can be leading that government next year, Plaid Cymru is putting itself forward as the party to lead that government. 'And if people want that, they can have it with me as first minister, the first non-Labour first minister, setting a different direction for governments in Wales.' Parties in Wales are likely to have to co-operate following the poll, the Plaid leader admitted, but he continued to rule out a 'formal relationship' with Mr Farage's Reform UK. Mr ap Iorwerth added: 'We have two conservative parties in Wales now: the Conservative Party, and the Tories on steroids that Reform are: the pro-Thatcher, the pro-Liz Truss, the pro-Trump political party that works against the interests of workers, that works against the interests of businesses in Wales. 'I just don't think that's the politics that is in the interests of Wales.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Welsh nationalist leader: IndyRef ‘could happen in our lifetime'
A referendum on Welsh independence could 'absolutely' be held within 'our lifetime', Plaid Cymru's leader has said. Rhun ap Iorwerth did not shy away from suggesting his party may be the leading political force in Wales following a poll that predicts Plaid will have the largest vote share in the 2026 Senedd elections. Plaid is projected to be the largest party in the Senedd following the outcome of the election, with around 30 per cent of votes and 35 seats in the Siambr, according to a YouGov poll published on Tuesday. Nigel Farage's Reform UK would be the second largest party, with 25 per cent of votes, according to the poll. The Plaid leader ruled out holding a referendum on Wales leaving the UK in the first term of a Plaid-led Welsh government, when speaking to the BBC's Walescast this week. He has previously declined to put a timeline on a referendum, after Plaid's last leader Adam Price promised such a vote within five years. But Mr ap Iorwerth told the PA news agency a referendum could form part of a Plaid government's platform for the future, once it has built trust with the Welsh electorate. 'The key thing is it's up to the people of Wales. And I've many times said that I would have independence tomorrow, but it's not what I think that matters,' Mr ap Iorwerth told the Press Association. 'It's what the people of Wales believe, and I absolutely think we can have that referendum and set us off on a different direction as a country within our lifetime,' he added. Should Plaid pursue such a referendum in future, it would be likely to need support from other parties in Cardiff Bay and at Westminster, which is unlikely to be forthcoming. Plaid would focus on 'deep problems within the NHS in Wales', as well as education, economic stagnation and poverty, should it be the party that leads the next Welsh government, Mr ap Iorwerth said. Electoral reform to address Labour 'bias' The next Senedd election will see Welsh voters use a new proportional system to choose their representatives. Some 49 seats will be required for an outright majority, with the Senedd being expanded to 96 members. The previous system had an 'in-built bias towards Labour', the Plaid leader said. Mr ap Iorwerth added: 'That changes with the new electoral system that we have in Wales, and it's a genuine case that wherever people are in Wales, the votes that they cast will contribute towards who can be leading that government next year, Plaid Cymru is putting itself forward as the party to lead that government. 'And if people want that, they can have it with me as first minister, the first non-Labour first minister, setting a different direction for governments in Wales.' Parties in Wales are likely to have to co-operate following the poll, the Plaid leader admitted, but he continued to rule out a 'formal relationship' with Mr Farage's Reform UK. Mr ap Iorwerth added: 'We have two conservative parties in Wales now: the Conservative Party, and the Tories on steroids that Reform are: the pro-Thatcher, the pro-Liz Truss, the pro-Trump political party that works against the interests of workers, that works against the interests of businesses in Wales. 'I just don't think that's the politics that is in the interests of Wales.'
