Wales’s first minister has called for a new deal for the country as Plaid Cymru prepares to meet for the first time since winning the Senedd election. Rhun ap Iorwerth is due to address party members at the conference, placing that demand at the centre of his message.

The gathering marks a significant moment for Plaid Cymru, which will convene as a party of government rather than of opposition. Mr ap Iorwerth will speak both as party leader and as first minister, a dual role that follows the Senedd result.

“A new deal for Wales”

— Rhun ap Iorwerth, First Minister of Wales

First conference since the Senedd victory

According to reports, the first minister has set out his demand for a new deal before the conference opens. The timing is deliberate: the meeting is Plaid Cymru’s first since the election, and the leadership’s case to members is expected to rest on securing a revised settlement for Wales.

Mr ap Iorwerth has not, in the account available, attached a detailed public shopping list to the phrase. What has been made clear is the political framing — that Wales should obtain a new deal — and that this will be put directly to the party faithful when he addresses them.

“New deal”

— The first minister, in his demand issued ahead of the Plaid Cymru conference

An address to members in government

The conference will give members their first formal opportunity since the Senedd election to hear from the leadership in person. Mr ap Iorwerth’s speech is the principal fixture of that gathering, and the call for a new deal is the demand he has chosen to advance in the run-up to it.

  • Plaid Cymru is holding its first conference since winning the Senedd election.
  • First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth will address party members.
  • He has demanded a new deal for Wales ahead of that speech.

How that demand is developed in the conference hall, and how it is then pursued beyond the party, will become clearer once Mr ap Iorwerth has spoken. For now, the first minister has drawn a sharp line under the election and pointed towards a new deal as the next argument he intends Wales to make.