Plaid Cymru ends Senedd cooperation deal with Welsh Labour in latest blow to Vaughan Gething

(The Independent)

Plaid Cymru has ended its cooperation deal in the Senedd with Welsh Labour, in the latest blow for first minister Vaughan Gething – who critics say could soon face a no-confidence vote.

The three-year deal had been due to end in December 2024 – but Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has announced on Friday that the agreement had been terminated with “immediate effect”.

Mr ap Iowerth said he was proud of how the agreement had “demonstrated a new way of doing politics which focused on areas of policy which impact people’s everyday lives”.

But he cited “deep concerns” over donations to Mr Gething’s campaign, the first minister’s decision to sack Hannah Blyth on Thursday, and “the emerging approach of the government in relation to some elements of the co-operation agreement”, citing the recent decision to delay Council Tax Reform.

The collapse comes after the Conservative Senedd leader Andrew RT Davies claimed it was “odds on” that a no-confidence motion to force the first minister’s resignation would soon be brought forward by opposition members.

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