Latest news with #WelshPolitics
Sky News
10 hours ago
- Business
- Sky News
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer set to warn of 'backroom stitch up' between parties in Wales
The prime minister is set to warn of a "backroom stitch up" between the Conservatives, Reform UK and Plaid Cymru ahead of next year's Senedd elections. Sir Keir Starmer will address Welsh Labour's annual conference in Llandudno, North Wales, on Saturday. Voters will head to the polls next May to choose their representatives in Cardiff Bay and recent polls suggest Labour is in third place, behind Reform and Plaid. Labour has been the largest party at every Senedd election since devolution began in 1999. It is understood he will say such a deal would mark a "return to the chaos and division of the last decade". But opposition parties have hit back at the prime minister's "imaginary coalitions", with Plaid Cymru accusing Labour of "scraping the barrel". 2:59 Sir Keir is expected to tell members how the two Labour governments in Westminster and Cardiff are "working together for the people of Wales". At next year's Senedd election, 96 members will be elected to the Welsh parliament for the first time - an increase of more than a third - under a more proportional voting system. He is anticipated to describe First Minister Eluned Morgan as a "fierce champion" for Wales and "the best person" to lead the country into the future. It comes after Ms Morgan set out the "red Welsh way" in a landmark speech last month, seemingly deviating from the Westminster party, and calling for more "respect" for devolution and a "fair deal" for Wales. The prime minister's pitch to the people of Wales comes as the UK government announces legal protections for military personnel, their families and for veterans as the country marks Armed Forces Day. Further details are set to be outlined in due course, but the government says they could include more travel benefits or flexible working arrangements for partners of serving personnel. After a week in which the amid a mounting rebellion, the party is expected to make a number of announcements for Wales. Among those is a new £11m fund for businesses in Port Talbot and the surrounding area, which Labour says proves that it is the only party with "a real plan to grow Welsh industry".
Sky News
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer set to warn of 'backroom stitch up' between Welsh parties
Why you can trust Sky News The prime minister is set to warn of a "backroom stitch up" between the Conservatives, Reform UK and Plaid Cymru ahead of next year's Senedd elections. Sir Keir Starmer will address Labour members in Llandudno, North Wales, on Saturday at Welsh Labour's annual conference. People in Wales will head to the polls next May to vote for their representatives in Cardiff Bay and recent polls suggest Labour is in third place, behind Reform and Plaid. Labour has been the largest party at every Senedd election since devolution began in 1999. It is understood he will say such a deal would mark a "return to the chaos and division of the last decade". But opposition parties have hit back at the prime minister's "imaginary coalitions", with Plaid Cymru accusing Labour of "scraping the barrel". 2:59 Sir Keir is expected to tell members how the two Labour governments are "working together for the people of Wales". At next year's Senedd election, 96 members will be elected to the Welsh parliament for the first time - an increase of more than a third - under a more proportional voting system. He is anticipated to describe First Minister Eluned Morgan as a "fierce champion" for Wales and "the best person" to lead the country into the future. It comes after Ms Morgan set out the "red Welsh way" in a landmark speech last month, seemingly deviating from the Westminster party, and calling for more "respect" for devolution and a "fair deal" for Wales. The prime minister's pitch to the people of Wales comes as the UK government announces legal protections for military personnel, their families and for veterans as the country marks Armed Forces Day. Further details are set to be outlined in due course, but the government says they could include more travel benefits or flexible working arrangements for partners of serving personnel. After a week in which the government U-turned on controversial welfare reforms amid a mounting rebellion, the party is expected to make a number of announcements for Wales. Among those is a new £11m fund for businesses in Port Talbot and the surrounding area, which Labour says proves that it is the only party with "a real plan to grow Welsh industry".
BBC News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Gareth Lewis: Senedd election will see new dawn for Welsh politics
Gareth Lewis: New dawn and sleepless nights for Welsh politics 10 minutes ago Share Save Gareth Lewis Political editor, BBC Wales News Share Save PA Media We might end up with a 'kaleidoscope' of political colours after the election, according to BBC Wales political editor Gareth Lewis Welcome to the new dawn. Literally, on the one hand, as BBC Radio Wales Breakfast took over the Oriel area of the Senedd on Wednesday to mark a year to go until the next election. Metaphorically perhaps too, as on current projections Labour's dominance in Cardiff Bay looks under serious threat. James Williams, the programme's presenter, promised listeners a "kaleidoscope" of political colours on the show, and that is what we might end up with after the election too. A bigger Senedd – 96 members next time round – has coincided with a splintering of Welsh politics into a picture we have not seen before. Welsh Labour's potential demise, a Plaid surge, a consistent showing from Reform and the apparent plunge in support for the Conservatives means there is a real contest to become the biggest party. First Minister Eluned Morgan admitted on the 08:00 BST slot that Welsh Labour had "work to do". She also revealed she is meeting Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on Thursday to start a discussion of "how to turn things round" after saying she hopes her speech yesterday will give Downing Street a "jolt". That means in blunt terms – what are you going to give me? The answer might well come later in the summer with UK government decisions due on infrastructure spending and the chancellor's long-awaited spending review in June. But with views over Cardiff Bay in front of her, is Morgan swimming against the tide? Have many traditional Labour voters already made up their minds and decided they will go elsewhere, or not vote at all? Eluned Morgan told Radio Wales Breakfast on Wednesday that Labour has "work to do" Hoping to benefit is Plaid Cymru, buoyed by a poll on Tuesday which gave them the lead, although they risked losing the cycling vote after staging an event perilously close to the edge of one of Cardiff Bay's most popular bike routes. Their leader Rhun ap Iorwerth told Breakfast one of the biggest "blocks" to change was people "not believing change was possible". He said voters were feeling "desperately let down" by Labour, but promised to put forward a positive vision of a Plaid alternative. He admitted there was "no guarantee" that he would get anything more out of Starmer than Morgan, but that he would rock the boat in a way that Morgan would not. Rhun ap Iorwerth marked one year until the election outside the Senedd on Wednesday
