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New polling on voting intentions at a Senedd election suggests that Plaid Cymru is running just 1% behind Labour – a sensational finding that raises the possibility of Plaid leader Rhun ap Iorwerth becoming First Minister in less than two years’ time.

The figures suggest that the scandals involving outgoing First Minister Vaughan Gething, coupled with increasing disillusionment about the quality of public service delivery, have seriously damaged Labour and threaten to dislodge it from the leading role it’s had in Wales politics for more than a century.

New polling on voting intentions at a Senedd election suggests that Plaid Cymru is running just 1% behind Labour – a sensational finding that raises the possibility of Plaid leader Rhun ap Iorwerth becoming First Minister in less than two years’ time.

The figures suggest that the scandals involving outgoing First Minister Vaughan Gething, coupled with increasing disillusionment about the quality of public service delivery, have seriously damaged Labour and threaten to dislodge it from the leading role it’s had in Wales politics for more than a century.

New polling on voting intentions at a Senedd election suggests that Plaid Cymru is running just 1% behind Labour – a sensational finding that raises the possibility of Plaid leader Rhun ap Iorwerth becoming First Minister in less than two years’ time.

The figures suggest that the scandals involving outgoing First Minister Vaughan Gething, coupled with increasing disillusionment about the quality of public service delivery, have seriously damaged Labour and threaten to dislodge it from the leading role it’s had in Wales politics for more than a century.

If the 2024 General Election results in Wales tell us anything, it’s that the Welsh Conservatives are in a lot of trouble.

In Wales, the Conservatives not only lost all the seats they held, they were beaten handsomely in nearly all of them. In only four seats were they within 5% of the winning party, while the party saw large majorities overturned in areas like Monmouthshire, and Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr; the latter of which had never returned a Labour MP in its long history as the constituency of Montgomeryshire.

MS Society Cymru is thrilled to announce that a group of Year 8 students from Bryntirion Comprehensive School in Bridgend has won the First Give competition, securing a £1,000 prize for our charity. This victory brings their total donation to an impressive £1,305, marking a significant achievement in youth-led fundraising and awareness efforts for multiple sclerosis (MS).

The First Give School Final saw 13-year-old students Pranay, Ben, Iestyn, Ollie, Kathleen, and Daniel from class 8T deliver a powerful presentation about MS and the work of MS Society Cymru. Their dedication, creativity, and passion for the cause set them apart from seven other presentations, earning them the top prize.

During an interview with Ciaran Jenkins for Channel 4 during the general election, Rhun ap Iorweth was asked about NATO membership for an independent Wales. The Plaid Cymru leader said a relationship with NATO would be important to Wales, but that he’d prefer some form of associate membership, akin to Ireland’s relationship with NATO.

So, for the time being, NATO membership for an independent Wales is off the cards in Plaid Cymru’s vision for the country. What other options for defence policy could the party consider?

Plaid Cymru has renewed calls for the devolution of the Crown Estate to Wales following the announcement of record £1.1bn profits earlier today (24 July).

The Crown Estate said earnings surged by more than £658 million during the year ending March 31, from £443 million the previous year.

The spike in profits was mainly down to option fees, payments made by companies to reserve a patch of the seabed to eventually build their wind turbines on.

Child poverty expert turned Welsh Labour MP Torsten Bell has defended his decision to vote against scrapping the two child benefit cap, despite arguing in favour of doing so for years.

Until being elected to Parliament as the MP for Swansea West at the general election, Mr Bell was chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, a think tank that specialises in the study of poverty and how to relieve it.

Three different groups of health campaigners have expressed anger at the prospect of Health Secretary Eluned Morgan becoming First Minister.

With Jeremy Miles’ decision not to stand in the Welsh Labour leadership election called following Vaughan Gething’s resignation, it is considered highly likely that she will be the only candidate for the post when nominations close at noon on Wednesday July 24.

If that happens, the Senedd will almost certainly be recalled to elect Baroness Morgan as First Minister. If, however, there is more than one nomination, Mr Gething will stay on as Acting First Minister until after the result of the election is known on September 14.

Health Minister Eluned Morgan seems likely to become the new First Minister after former contender Jeremy Miles announced he would not be standing to replace Vaughan Gething.

Mr Gething resigned last Tuesday, July 16, following months of controversy over donations totalling £200,000 that he took from a convicted criminal and the revelation that he had deleted messages during the Covid crisis because he feared they could be disclosed under freedom of information legislation. He subsequently lied to the UK Covid Inquiry.

The Welsh government’s response to the Covid pandemic was “hampered by undue complexity," a public inquiry has found.

In the UK Covid-19 Inquiry's first report, which looks at the UK's preparedness for a pandemic, the Welsh Government was criticised over its preparations.

The report said that the system in Wales was a “labyrinthine,” and that there were failed opportunities to create a coherent system.

Some GPs in Wales have been running at limited capacity without computer systems following a global IT outage.

Planes have been grounded throughout the world, many industries disrupted and TV channels forced off air.

In Wales, trains have been delayed or cancelled, GPs are having to revert to handwritten notes and are turning away all but the most serious patients.

The exact cause of the problem is unknown, although several firms have blamed an issue with Crowdstrike cyber security software.