Keir Starmer on the brink after elections hammering: Live updates

Rhun ap Iorwerth has said Plaid Cymru will seek to form a minority Government in Wales, as he spoke outside the Senedd after a historic election.

The Plaid Cymru leader hailed a ‘new beginning’ for Wales and said no Prime Minister ‘can cast Wales aside or turn a blind eye to our needs’ in a victory speech on the steps of the Welsh Parliament.

Plaid won the largest bloc in the Senedd, but fell short of a majority with 43 MSs.

Mr ap Iorwerth told reporters he ‘made it clear that my desire, were we able to, would be to form a minority government’ during the election campaign.

He added it was ‘clear now we are in that position’.

Ken Skates has been appointed the interim leader of Welsh Labour.

Baroness Eluned Morgan resigned from the role on Friday after losing her seat in the Senedd.

Mr Skates will serve as leader until a timetable is set for a full leadership election, the party said.

He said: ‘Today is just the beginning of a process that will help us to understand what we got wrong. Because we did get it wrong.

‘There is no reading of this result that endorses every action we have taken as a party and our task now is to take the time needed and to work out what has happened.

‘It is a task that will require every single one of us to take part in – every member, every councillor, every MS, MP, Lord and all roles in between.

‘But it is not a task that is beyond us.’

Labour is set to lose its control of Lambeth council in London.

While the results are still coming in, there are no longer enough seats for it to hold the local authority.

Labour has been in control of Lambeth council since 2006.

Andy Burnham has widely been touted as the next Prime Minister after Labour’s disastrous performance in the local elections.

And while the corridors of Westminster were alive with speculation about whether Sir Keir Starmer was going to step down and who might replace him, the Greater Manchester mayor was playing football.

He was pictured last night pulling on his boots to take part in a charity football match at FC United.

The Mayor, an Everton fan, is lining up for the homeless charity Booth Centre as they take on ‘The Rest of the World’ at Broadhurst Park in Moston.

He was seen with his kit bag in hand as he was ushered in through the back entrance of the ground.

Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman attended Downing Street earlier to meet the Prime Minister.

The pair were offered new top jobs as Sir Keir Starmer attempts to reset after a disastrous set of local election results.

Both were pictured posing for photographs outside Number 10 at the end of the visit.

John Swinney has not ruled out pushing for a second independence referendum as he said it is vital to ensure the Scottish Parliament is ‘Farage-proofed’.

He said:

There are now more pro-independence MSPs than at any time in the history of the Scottish Parliament. The way forward on this must be made in Scotland, the results across the UK made clear why the need for independence is so urgent.

Nigel Farage is now galloping towards Downing Street and the prospect of a Reform-led government is more likely than not. The UK may well soon have a prime minister who is openly hostile to minority groups, who has called for the privatisation of the NHS and the abolition of the Scottish Parliament.

It is vital that we unite in Scotland to ensure our parliament is fully Farage-proofed. That means having the power before 2029 to decide our own constitutional future without Farage being able to block us.

First Minister of Scotland John Swinney said people have voted for pro-independence ‘by a landslide’ – despite not achieving a majority.

His party won 58 seats on Friday, a drop from the 64 MSPs elected for the party in 2021.

Mr Swinney had set his goal at winning an overall majority at Holyrood, saying that would provide a renewed mandate for a push for Scottish independence.

‘The people have now spoken,’ Mr Swinney said. ‘The SNP has won the Scottish Parliament election, and we have won it emphatically.

‘The people have voted for a government that is on Scotland’s side, and they have voted by a landslide for a pro-independence government.’

He added: ‘We’ve also won a higher share of the vote than Keir Starmer did across the United Kingdom in 2024, an election widely described as a landslide.’

Sir Keir Starmer gave a job to former prime minister Gordon Brown as he sought to shore up his position following Labour’s electoral drubbing.

Mr Brown will be the Prime Minister’s special envoy on global finance, helping forge international co-operation, including with the European Union.

The Prime Minister also appointed former deputy Labour leader Baroness Harriet Harman as his adviser on women and girls.

The decision to offer unpaid, part-time roles to two of the biggest names from the last Labour government comes after Sir Keir suffered a disastrous set of election results in Wales, Scotland and English councils.

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has said his party will seek to form a minority government in Wales, as he spoke to reporters outside the Senedd in Cardiff.

He added the party would reach out to other Senedd members for support on an issue-by-issue basis.

I have tried to make it as clear as I can throughout the course of the campaign, and prior to that, that I am somebody who always seeks to work within the spirit of co-operation.

I made it clear that my desire, if we were able to, would be to form a minority Plaid Cymru government.

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth today hailed a ‘new beginning’ for Wales and said no prime minister ‘can cast Wales aside or turn a blind eye to our needs’ in a victory speech on the steps of the Welsh Parliament.

Plaid unseated Labour as the biggest party in the Senedd for the first time since devolution yesterday, taking home 49 seats – although was still short of a majority.

Speaking on the steps of the Senedd in Cardiff Bay, he said becoming the biggest party in the Senedd is a ‘momentous piece of Welsh history’ and that his party is ‘ready’ to govern.

The Plaid nominee to be the next First Minister of Wales added:

This is history made by the people of Wales.

It has been an honour to work on this campaign, but this campaign could only build on the work that has been done over a century of believing in our nation’s future.

The Prime Minister is now addressing the appointments of Labour veterans Baroness Harriet Harman and Gordon Brown announced earlier, as he insisted that bringing them back is a ‘future-looking’ move.

Mr Brown has been appointed as a special envoy on global finance and Lady Harman has been made an adviser on women and girls.

Sir Keir said:

I want women to have the opportunities that they deserve. I want to be able to tackle misogyny, I’ve made commitments on this and Harriet working with the team is the absolutely right person to do that.

So, it’s very future-looking, because this is about making sure that every woman has the opportunities that she deserves. And so Harriet will lead on that work, working with the Cabinet, working with the team.

For Gordon, obviously, one of the big challenges we face is global finance. The war in Iran is causing real problems, economic impact.

We need more spending on defence and security, that needs to come together around international mechanisms, and Gordon’s got a track record on that, and so that is building the strong economy of the future.

So, on both fronts, they are very future-looking roles. They are vital to how we strengthen our country and take it forward, and provide the opportunities that give people that hope for a better future.

Sir Keir Starmer has again insisted he will not quit and promised to offer more ‘hope’ from his Government following yesterday’s disastrous elections for Labour.

The Prime Minister said: ‘I’m not going to walk away from this, that would plunge the country into chaos.

‘But that doesn’t mean we don’t need to respond. It doesn’t mean we don’t need to rebuild. It doesn’t mean that we don’t need to set out the path ahead. That’s what I’m going to do in the coming days.’

He said one of the ‘unnecessary mistakes’ made by the Government was levelling with the public about the financial and international challenges facing the country, but not setting out how their lives would improve.

Sir Keir said: ‘The hope wasn’t there enough in the first two years of this government.

That’s why it’s important for me now to set out where hope resides. It resides in our young people having the future to go as far as their talent or ability will take them – to genuinely have that because if you’ve grown up in poverty, you don’t get that chance.’