First Minister of Wales loses seat in Senedd election

Eluned Morgan, the First Minister of Wales, has lost her seat in the Senedd in a dire set of elections for Welsh Labour.

Ms Morgan losing her seat marks the first time a sitting Welsh leader has lost an election in the Welsh parliament.

Labour has led Wales since the Senedd was first established as the National Assembly for Wales in 1999, and has been the largest party in the country for more than a century.

Ms Morgan's departure comes amid a brutal day for the party across Wales and the UK.

She had been a member of the Senedd since 2016, became a minister in the Welsh government a year later and was the first woman to hold the role of First Minister in Wales.

She took over at a turbulent time in Welsh Labour, with former first minister Vaughan Gething lasting just five months in the role.

Ms Morgan's departure comes as the party expects to be reduced from 30 to around 10 members in the Senedd, with a party spokesperson saying they are "deeply disappointed" they will not lead the government.

Earlier today, Labour's deputy leader in Wales appeared to concede a historic defeat in the Senedd elections, after Wales went to the polls yesterday.

A Welsh Labour spokesperson said: "This has undeniably been a very difficult election for Welsh Labour.

"We now expect to lose several hardworking and respected Members of the Senedd. We thank them for their service to their communities.

"It is looking like Welsh Labour will return a group of around 10 MSs - which will at least allow a vocal Labour opposition, even though we are deeply disappointed about not being able to lead a government."

Under the new voting system in Wales, there are 16 constituencies, with each represented by six Members of the Senedd - resulting in a total of 96 being elected.

Huw Irranca-Davies, the deputy first minister, suggested he accepted Labour would not return to power in Wales as ballots were being counted across the nation.

Asked by the BBC if Labour would be in a position to form the next Welsh government, he replied: "I don't think we're going to be in that situation."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has already said he takes responsibility for a "tough" set of local election results in England, where hundreds of Labour councillors have been voted out.

Plaid Cymru and Reform have topped opinion polls throughout the election campaign in Wales.

A Plaid Cymru source said: "From what we have so far... It's looking good."

The Labour vote has "collapsed", they added.