Rhun ap Iorwerth
Plaid Cymru leader and first non-Labour First Minister of Wales in 27 years.
On 22 September 2026, Rhun ap Iorwerth's Welsh Government set out six priorities for 2026 to 2030, with no target for waiting times or child poverty and no named partner party in a Senedd where Plaid Cymru holds 43 of 96 seats.
Last refreshed: 7 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
How long can Rhun ap Iorwerth govern Wales on a handshake deal with two Green MSs?
Timeline for Rhun ap Iorwerth
Presented the programme to the Senedd
UK Local Elections 2026: Rhun ap Iorwerth sets six goals for WalesDefended a £145m NHS allocation against a graduate-nurse shortfall
UK Local Elections 2026: Wales defends its £145m NHS top-upTabled six constitutional demands and secured youth justice funding concession
UK Local Elections 2026: ap Iorwerth's six-power Wales Bill askElected First Minister by the Senedd on 12 May and sworn in
UK Local Elections 2026: Plaid takes Cardiff after 27 yearsconfirmed Plaid will form minority Welsh government with Wales Green confidence-and-supply
UK Local Elections 2026: Plaid Cymru forms Welsh minority governmentBackground
Rhun ap Iorwerth is the First Minister of Wales and leader of Plaid Cymru. His election on 12 May 2026 made him the first non-Labour head of the Welsh Government in 27 years.
He launched Plaid's Senedd manifesto in Newport on 28 February 2026. It offered ten surgical hubs, childcare from the age of nine months and a weekly Welsh Child Payment of £10, and ruled out an independence referendum in a first term in favour of a national commission with a £500,000 budget.
In office he has pressed for more powers. On 19 May he set out six constitutional demands to the Senedd, on rail, water, the Crown Estate, Social Security, policing and justice, plus a fairer funding formula, and the same week secured a transfer of youth justice funding. On 1 July he defended a £145m NHS allocation, blaming a nurse and midwife shortfall on training decisions made in 2022.
Ap Iorwerth governs without a majority
On 12 May, ap Iorwerth was elected First Minister after Plaid Cymru won 43 of the Senedd's 96 seats. Two Wales Green MSs provided the votes, without a written confidence-and-supply agreement, and together the two parties still fall short of a majority.
His Programme for Government, presented on 22 September, lists six priorities: NHS waiting lists, the cost of living, well-paid jobs, school standards, child poverty and "standing up for Wales". Its one Headline housing number is a minimum of 20,000 social homes by 2030; it sets no waiting-time or child-poverty target, and it offers only to "work constructively across the Senedd". He told members his government would be measured on "the outcomes it delivers".
Who is Rhun ap Iorwerth?
What are Plaid Cymru's 2026 Senedd manifesto promises?
Will Plaid Cymru hold an independence referendum if it wins the Senedd?
How does the new Welsh voting system affect Plaid Cymru?
Who is Rhun ap Iorwerth and how did he become First Minister of Wales?
Is Wales now independent from Labour rule?
How stable is Rhun ap Iorwerth's minority government in Wales?
How did Rhun ap Iorwerth defend Wales's NHS funding at FMQs?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 7 October 2026. Editorial standards.