Why this was an incredible election for Plaid Cymru

For Plaid Cymru the general election went as well as they could have ever have hoped. Not only did they hold on to their two seats they already had but they won two others in Caerfyrddin and Ynys Mon.

There were no other seats that the party could have realistically targeted in this election and they got over the line in both of them. What makes this more impressive is that both these seats were three-way shootouts.

READ MORE: The general election results in full for every constituency in Wales in 2024

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In Anglesey they beat the incumbent Conservative Virginia Crosbie by just under 700 votes. In Carmarthen they beat back Labour and the Tories to secure a near-5,000 majority.

Their leader Rhun ap Iorwerth, whose profile saw a boost from the TV debates much like Leanne Wood did in 2015, was in buoyant mood. “This is a stunning result for Plaid Cymru and testament to the real warmth and enthusiasm we have been feeling on the doorstep for the last six weeks,” he said. “Despite the tough context of an unprecedented Labour wave this is the party’s best ever result in a general election – representing the greatest proportion of seats won.

“People were consistently telling us that they were desperate to see the back of the Tories but that Labour weren’t offering real change either. Plaid Cymru stood on a positive and ambitious platform of fairness for Wales and I’m delighted that people have put their faith in four outstanding candidates to represent them in Westminster. This result shows that Plaid Cymru is the clear alternative to Labour in Wales and our focus now shifts to putting forward a vision which more people than everyone can get behind at the Senedd election in 2026.”

And it is the 2026 Senedd election that is their main focus. There are a lot of things to encourage Plaid. First off is the Labour performance. The Labour share of the vote has fallen by four percentage points. Bu the time of the Senedd election there will have been a Labour government in Westminster of two years and Welsh Labour will have few excuses for the issues with public services. There is a big opening that the party can exploit.

The rise of Reform presents a threat and opportunity. Nigel Farage’s party are likely to do very well in the proportional Senedd election. They clearly have Labour in their sights. In Llanelli they were 1,500 votes off beating Labour.

Reducing the number of Labour members will make it easier for Plaid to be the largest party and it seems logical that Plaid voters will be less likely to switch to Reform than Labour. But there is also a strong likelihood that Reform will run on an-anti devolution stance given the candidates they have put up so far in Wales. Plaid having to argue for devolution against a populist Reform will be a tough task in the South Wales Valleys.

The Party of Wales’ inability to take seats in the Valleys has long been a brick wall blocking Plaid from access to real power. Winning in Carmarthen and Anglesey will be pleasing for the party but it would be naïve to suggest that this is anything other than a good foundation on which much larger steps need to be made. But given that just over a year ago Plaid was searching for a new leader having been mired in scandal with morale in the toilet Rhun ap Iorwerth will be very happy right now.