Plaid Cymru 'ready to form' next Welsh government, leader says

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has said his party is "ready to form a government" in Wales.

But asked by Sky News whether a vote for Plaid Cymru meant a vote for Welsh independence, the Plaid leader refused to be drawn.

It comes as a new poll published on Tuesday put the Welsh nationalists as the largest party in Wales, with 30% of the vote share.

Wednesday marks exactly a year until the next Senedd election, when voters in Wales will elect 96 members for the first time - an increase of more than 50% from the current 60.

While Plaid has previously been a coalition party in government, the party has never formed the biggest group in the Senedd (Welsh parliament).

But the latest YouGov poll for ITV Cymru Wales and Cardiff University put them ahead of Reform UK in second place with 25% of the vote, Labour in third with 18% and the Conservatives in fourth with 13%.

On Tuesday, Welsh Labour leader Eluned Morgan called for a review of the cuts to winter fuel allowance - but Downing Street has refused to change tack.

Speaking alongside supporters outside the Senedd in Cardiff Bay, Mr ap Iorwerth said his party was "ready to govern" and that the "hard work" had now begun.

"People know that Plaid Cymru is the only credible pro-Wales government that they can choose to offer us a fresh start as a nation next year," he added.

Speaking to Sky News after the campaign event, Mr ap Iorwerth said people were "yearning for a change".

Rather than a vote for Welsh independence, "a vote for Plaid Cymru is a vote for a Plaid Cymru-led government here," he said.

"On the future of Wales constitutionally, yes I believe in us taking control of our own future, but the key thing is, it's up to the people of Wales where we go on that particular journey."

Asked if a Plaid Cymru-led government would push for an independence referendum, Mr ap Iorwerth said: "Let's deal with the issues that we have here in Wales, on health, on education, on creating a more prosperous economy, dealing with the scourge of child poverty."

Last year, he told Sky News it was "not useful" to put a date on Welsh independence.

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Mr ap Iorwerth said his party had a "plan", but also a "vision on where we can go as a country".

"While I'm convinced that it's by taking powers into our own hands that we build that brighter future, there are people who have different viewpoints," he said.

"I want to bring people with us on that journey and create a new confidence in what we can be."