Ken Skates
Welsh Labour MS appointed interim leader after Morgan lost her seat on 7 May 2026.
Last refreshed: 9 May 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can Welsh Labour rebuild from 9 seats, or has Plaid permanently replaced it as the Welsh left?
Timeline for Ken Skates
appointed interim Welsh Labour leader within 24 hours of election
UK Local Elections 2026: Plaid Cymru forms Welsh minority governmentWelsh Labour collapses to nine seats
UK Local Elections 2026- Who is the new Welsh Labour leader after the 2026 Senedd election?
- Ken Skates MS, the Clwyd South member, was appointed interim Welsh Labour leader on 8 May 2026 after Eluned Morgan lost her Ceredigion Penfro seat.Source: Lowdown / UK Elections 2026
- What happened to Welsh Labour in the 2026 Senedd election?
- Welsh Labour collapsed to just 9 seats — its smallest Senedd group since 1910 — after First Minister Eluned Morgan lost her own constituency.Source: Lowdown / UK Elections 2026
- How many seats does Welsh Labour have after 7 May 2026?
- Welsh Labour holds 9 of 96 Senedd seats after the 7 May 2026 elections, the lowest figure since the Senedd was established.Source: Lowdown / UK Elections 2026
Background
Ken Skates was appointed interim Welsh Labour leader on 8 May 2026, within 24 hours of First Minister Eluned Morgan losing her Ceredigion Penfro constituency to Plaid Cymru, leaving Welsh Labour with just 9 Senedd seats — its smallest group since 1910. Skates holds the Clwyd South seat and previously served as Cabinet Secretary for North Wales and Transport in the outgoing Welsh Government.
Skates entered the Senedd in 2016 and built a profile as a regional voice for north Wales, focusing on transport connectivity and economic development. Before devolution he stood in Westminster elections, and his Cabinet role gave him experience of cross-government coordination on infrastructure. He was not among the favourites to lead Welsh Labour before the election catastrophe changed the arithmetic entirely.
His interim appointment lands him at the head of a rump opposition in a Senedd now governed by a Plaid Cymru minority with Wales Green confidence and supply. Welsh Labour must rebuild from its lowest ebb in over a century, and Skates will be managing a permanent leadership contest alongside that reconstruction. How he positions the party relative to Plaid, Reform UK's 34 seats, and the Welsh Conservatives will define Welsh Labour's identity heading into the next Senedd cycle.