Plaid Cymru is a left-wing Welsh-nationalist party. Its first MP, Gwynfor Evans, was elected on July 14th 1966 in Carmarthen. The party's traditional base is Wales's roughly half a million Welsh speakers, but it has been reaching voters with a broader message on public services and the cost of living. It tends to win more votes in Senedd (Wales's parliament) elections than in Westminster contests.
The party is led by Rhun ap Iorwerth, a former journalist. Under Wales's proportional voting system, Reform UK is unlikely to win a majority in the Senedd, making some form of centre-left coalition led by Plaid Cymru the most probable outcome of the May 2026 election. Mr ap Iorwerth has noted that a Plaid Cymru first minister in Wales, an SNP first minister in Scotland and a Sinn Féin first minister in Northern Ireland would mean all three devolved governments were led by separatists for the first time. He says he will not legislate for an independence referendum as first minister, calling himself "a pragmatist".
Headline policies include free child care, the establishment of a national development agency and investment in preventative medicine to tackle waiting lists. The party claims the British government owes Wales £4bn ($5bn) to make up for spending on HS2 in England, and wants to renegotiate the Treasury's block grants.
Say something you'll be sorry for, I love receiving apologies.