Sioned Williams writes about the latest poll on Senedd voting intentions
This article was published in the South Wales Evening Post on Thursday 15 May 2025.
Plaid Cymru in the lead!
“Seismic” is not usually a word associated with Welsh politics, but that’s the word that’s been reported across the UK following the latest poll on Senedd voting intentions which put Plaid Cymru well in the lead.
For the first time since devolution, we are potentially looking at a Welsh Government not led by Labour. People in Wales are waking up to a credible alternative to Westminster parties and are turning to Plaid Cymru as the only party truly standing up for Wales’s interests.
This is ‘seismic’ because for 100 years, Wales has consistently voted for Labour. This shift from Labour is no doubt down in part to people feeling betrayed by Labour in Westminster, and let down by seeing Labour in Wales going along with decisions which hit Wales the hardest - such as cutting pensioners’ Winter Fuel Payment, scrapping disability payments, u-turning on their support for pension justice for 1950’s born women and backing plans to nationalise steel in Scunthorpe, when they’d ridiculed Plaid Cymru’s plans for saving steel in Port Talbot.
But perhaps this shouldn’t be too much of a surprise when locally we have seen people turn away from Labour dominance for a good few years now. In 2022, for the first time, Labour lost Neath Port Talbot council, and a rainbow coalition took the helm, formed in the main by Plaid Cymru and a group of independent councillors.
This is also about Labour’s record in Wales too of course, and there’s no more telling a metric on which to judge that than the opportunities afforded to our children. Even before looking at their work prospects, or their educational opportunities, there’s something more fundamental that Labour in Wales has utterly failed to get a grip with, and that’s child poverty. Currently in Wales, more than one in three children grows up without the basics.
Is it any surprise when Labour in Wales dropped their own child poverty targets and then created a new strategy that doesn't include targets – the one thing that would drive the policies needed to ensure that every child can reach their potential?
For too long, Labour have taken the support of steelworkers, pensioners and ordinary families for granted and there’s definitely a feeling of betrayal among those who put them into power at the last election. This latest poll showed that these are the people who are switching their support to Plaid Cymru.
The only poll that matters is the one in a year’s time, of course, so if you want to see Wales led by a positive Government that will put fairness for our communities at heart of its work, Plaid Cymru offers the fresh start our nation needs.