This week’s headlines have revolved around the future of Keir Starmer’s imploding government in Westminster, and the unfolding psychodrama that could ultimately tear the Labour Party apart.
But while we wait to see if his administration collapses in the wake of last week’s local election drubbing, another Labour hiding – this time in its Welsh heartland – also signals a historic new political era. And it’s one that could be as consequential as anything unfolding in No 10.
After over a century as Wales’ predominant political force, Labour is now very much out of power – having come a distant third in last Thursday’s election behind Welsh nationalists Plaid Cymru, and Reform UK, with the latter taking up the role of official opposition.
In the run-up to the election, Reform had attempted to paint Plaid as little more than a Labour ally – pointing to its previous status as a periodic junior partner to past Labour governments.
So as its media-savvy leader Rhun ap Iorwerth gets to grip with life as Wales’ first non-Labour first minister – and one leading a minority administration to boot – one of his biggest challenges will be to differentiate his party from Wales’ once all-powerful political force.
Alongside parking its long-held aim of seeking Welsh independence (for now, at least), ex-BBC Wales political journalist ap Iorwerth has pledged “new leadership” and a “new approach” to running the country. And without a Westminster ‘big brother’ looming over it, as critics argued was the case under the previous Labour government, this could become the most politically independent Welsh administration to date.
Wales’ ‘new hope’
Speaking after his 43-strong group of Members of the Senedd (MSs) were sworn in this week, ap Iorwerth said “something has stirred in the soul of Wales – a new confidence, a new hope, a new, broader horizon, never to be narrowed again by the naysayers with other priorities in other places”.
In practice, that points to a Plaid government taking a more robust line in its dealings with Westminster, while also working with fellow nationalist governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland to form a united front on shared priorities.
And while detailed plans for what it called Wales’ “overlooked” food and farming sectors are currently limited to a single page in its manifesto, there are signals that Plaid’s approach on a range of issues could significantly differ from its predecessors.
As The Grocer reported earlier this week, hopes are growing that the party could accede to industry calls for Wales to ditch its plans to include glass in its deposit return scheme, and instead align with the UK-wide DRS set to launch in October next year.
Exchange for Change is understood to be resubmitting its bid to run the scheme in Wales, ahead of a 2 June deadline, without major changes.
“We are very hopeful that the new government, despite being a minority administration, will have a more pragmatic approach and can give a lifeline to the hopes of a UK-wide launch of DRS next year,” a source told The Grocer.
Plaid’s pledge to consider glass “when this becomes practically feasible” with “relevant exemptions to prevent added costs for small businesses”, has fuelled growing confidence among industry insiders that a change in tack could be on the cards.
Other noteworthy food sector-specific manifesto pledges include the creation of a new, business-led National Development Agency for Wales, which would provide tailored business support for agriculture, food and drink; “promoting innovation and business growth in the sector and supporting succession processes that keep businesses Welsh-owned”.
The party also wants to develop a separate National Food Strategy for Wales, pledging to improve diets and increase the amount of Welsh food and drink procured by the public sector from 23% to at least 50%.
It has additionally pledged to create new, official ‘Made in Wales’ branding “that provides consumers with clear information on product sourcing and the carbon-cost savings of buying local”. This is part of a wider bid to improve the lot of Welsh food producers, alongside a promise to “work with major retailers to ensure that every supermarket has a dedicated Welsh produce section”.
Farming and the environment
Elsewhere, Plaid has plans to phase out “unnecessary” single-use plastics, “starting with packaging for fresh fruit and vegetables where this offers negligible benefit for shelf life, reducing the amount of plastic that ends up as litter or microplastics in our food and ecosystems”.
As far as farming goes, ap Iorwerth says the party will “maintain strong collaboration with the farming community as we implement the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), and continue to evolve and refine it – supporting thriving and sustainable farm businesses to produce food, while also progressively delivering key environmental outcomes”.
Though given the SFS’ tortured development, with its initial commitment to reduce farming area for projects such as rewilding prompting a slew of farmer protests, the party will also have to tread carefully to keep Wales’ farmers on side.
It’s also telling that Greenpeace ranked the party as Wales’ top scoring – alongside the Green Party – on its nature and environment policies. Indeed, Plaid was the only party in Wales to set a net zero target of 2040 – which could also bring it into conflict with the farming population, once its aims become clearer.
Ap Iorwerth’s go-to minister for implementing all this will be north Wales MS Llyr Gruffydd, who was appointed as cabinet minister for rural resilience and sustainability on Wednesday.
And, as with the revolving cast of Defra secretaries over the past decade, ensuring the food side of the brief gets equal billing with sustainability will be a key test for the new government.
Given Gruffydd’s background as Plaid’s shadow rural affairs spokesman, NFU Cymru was quick to praise his appointment, citing his “wealth of experience and understanding of the sector at a critical time for the industry”.
What comes next should be fascinating. A party that has spent most of its political life on the fringes – largely rooted in its Welsh-speaking heartlands – now holds the levers of power. And in today’s febrile political climate, it will need to prove it can deliver, and fast.
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