‘Prospect of chaos’ if Reform or Plaid win in Wales – Welsh First Minister

There is a “real prospect of chaos” if Reform UK or Plaid Cymru win in Wales, the Welsh First Minister has said.

Speaking to the PA news agency from Labour’s conference in Liverpool, Baroness Eluned Morgan said jobs in Wales could be “on the line” if the party loses the Caerphilly by-election in October and is unable to get through the next Welsh Government budget.

She said: “Obviously, it’s a crucial election for us, because we need every vote we can in the Senedd.

“And we need to get budgets through, which means that we can invest the additional money we’ve got from the UK Labour Government into our communities.”

The Welsh Labour leader criticised Plaid Cymru for “teaming up” with the Conservatives in an attempt to block the last Welsh Government budget, a move she insists would have cost Wales £1.6 billion of extra funding if it had succeeded.

Welsh Labour holds a narrow lead in the Senedd, with the last round of spending plans requiring the support of the Liberal Democrats’ Jane Dodds to get through.

The by-election is being held following the death of Hefin Wyn David, who had served as Member of the Senedd for Caerphilly since 2016.

“He was a very popular local member, and we will be trying to build on his legacy,” Lady Morgan said.

“We’ve got a very good local candidate, who’s committed to the area, brought his children up in the area, built a business in the area.”

The First Minister defended Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer, who told BBC Wales on Thursday he did not know whether he would campaign in Caerphilly.

She said: “My understanding is that he never goes to by-elections.

“So, obviously, we’ll see, but my understanding is that this wouldn’t be unusual for the Prime Minister not to turn up at a by-election.”

Neither Sir Keir nor Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch campaigned in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, which led to Reform gaining a seat in Westminster.

If Labour fails to secure the by-election, any future budget votes will prove more fraught with difficulty, with Lady Morgan admitting it would “be a challenge”.

The First Minister added: “If (Plaid and Reform) fail to demonstrate that they can be responsible, why the hell would anyone vote for them in May?

“If they try and block money from going into our communities, which would lead to significant job losses across the whole of Wales, I do think that people would have to ask the question.

“I genuinely think there’s a real prospect for us to see chaos in Wales if either Reform or Plaid come top of the polls.”

Ahead of the next Senedd elections in May, more than a dozen Labour MSs have announced their intention not to seek re-election, including Welsh health minister Jeremy Miles.

Lady Morgan insisted she would not be one of them and planned to be “leading the charge” for the group into the next election.

“A lot of people are standing down, but a lot of them have reached retirement age,” she said.

“These are people who have contributed for a very long time, who have made a massive contribution, and I’m looking forward to welcoming a whole bunch of enthusiastic, fresh, exciting members to the Senedd, and we’ll be unveiling who they are in the next few months.”