The Welsh Politics Pod

The dust has settled and the work of the new Senedd and the new national government for Wales has begun. In our final pod of this run we review the astounding election result across the political picture and what we've learned about the country and its political changes. Of course we also look forward to the challenges for the new Plaid Cymru government, the new parliament, Reform UK's lead opposition group, and the difficult conversations that need to be had within Labour and the Conservative Parties about what rebuilding looks like. Thank you for listening, commenting, and sharing the pod. We're joining the whole of Welsh poliics and looking towards a new era ourselves. The Welsh Politics Pod is a process, not an event, so we'll hope to see you all again in the future. #Senedd26 #Wales #Cymru Your hosts: Prof Laura McAllister of the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University, former national football team captain and Vice President at UEFA Lauren McEvatt, political commentator and former Conservative Special Advisor to the Wales Office in UK Govt Lee Waters, former Labour Party Member of the Senedd for Llanelli and former Welsh Govt Minister Find us on the socials: YouTube: www.youtube.com/@WelshPoliticsPod TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@welshpolitics Instagram: www.instagram.com/welshpoliticspod/ X: www.x.com/WelshPolitics99 BlueSky: www.bsky.app/profile/welshpolitics.bsky.social Web: www.welsh-politics.com Produced by Richard Martin for Mimosa Cymru Artwork by Alison Hurren Music: Where Is It Instrumental by Jonworthymusic Press/Media queries to [email protected]

It’s all getting very real for the parties, just days away from the 2026 Welsh Parliament election. The landscape doesn’t seem to have changed much, if polls are accurate reflections of how people across the country will vote on Thursday. Plaid and Reform continue to jostle to lead the next government or lead the opposition - we discuss who really wants to do what. And elsewhere, is there a sense of crisis around the Labour Party as reality dawns on campaigners that the bleak UK-wide picture is potentially going to put the party in a distant third - or fourth - in Wales? What does that mean for the 'most successful party in the democratic world', Welsh Labour? Is the Green surge going to push them closer to governing with Plaid? Will the Conservatives have to change leader again? And will we see even one Liberal Democrat in the next parliament? We discuss it all! #Senedd26 #Wales #Cymru Your hosts: Prof Laura McAllister of the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University, former national football team captain and Vice President at UEFA Lauren McEvatt, political commentator and former Conservative Special Advisor to the Wales Office in UK Govt Lee Waters, former Labour Party Member of the Senedd for Llanelli and former Welsh Govt Minister Find us on the socials: YouTube: www.youtube.com/@WelshPoliticsPod TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@welshpolitics Instagram: www.instagram.com/welshpoliticspod/ X: www.x.com/WelshPolitics99 BlueSky: www.bsky.app/profile/welshpolitics.bsky.social Web: www.welsh-politics.com Produced by Richard Martin for Mimosa Cymru Artwork by Alison Hurren Music: Where Is It Instrumental by Jonworthymusic Press/Media queries to [email protected]

What does winning mean anyway? With no party likely to be able to govern alone after May's national election in Wales, the lead contender to form a government - Plaid Cymru - has a job on its hands to wrangle internal and external coalitions in order to form a stable government. This will fall against a backdrop of a party learning how to govern in real time and an increasingly challenging economic outlook that none of the parties seem to have prepared the public for. We discuss this meaty issue along with challenges for the other parties, notably Labour's post-election leadership crisis and how the parties of the right - Reform and Conservatives - deal with the election result and in all likelihood being unable to find a route to government. This is likely to be our penultimate pod so please be in touch with questions for the team that we'll pick up after the election and do remember to vote! #Senedd26 #Wales #Cymru Your hosts: Prof Laura McAllister of the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University, former national football team captain and Vice President at UEFA Lauren McEvatt, political commentator and former Conservative Special Advisor to the Wales Office in UK Govt Lee Waters, former Labour Party Member of the Senedd for Llanelli and former Welsh Govt Minister Find us on the socials: YouTube: www.youtube.com/@WelshPoliticsPod TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@welshpolitics Instagram: www.instagram.com/welshpoliticspod/ X: www.x.com/WelshPolitics99 BlueSky: www.bsky.app/profile/welshpolitics.bsky.social Web: www.welsh-politics.com Produced by Richard Martin for Mimosa Cymru Artwork by Alison Hurren Music: Where Is It Instrumental by Jonworthymusic Press/Media queries to [email protected]

In recent shows we've looked at the working of Welsh politics from inside the Welsh Government. But how do these same forces look from Westminster? In this pod we're delighted to be joined by Glynne Jones who worked inside the Wales Office for 20 years and was Director for the decade before retiring in 2025 and explore the role the institution plays in Whitehall, the role of the Secretary of State, and how it might interface with a Plaid-led Welsh Government. #Senedd26 #Wales #cymru Your hosts: Prof Laura McAllister of the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University, former national football team captain and Vice President at UEFA Lauren McEvatt, political commentator and former Conservative Special Advisor to the Wales Office in UK Govt Lee Waters, former Labour Party Member of the Senedd for Llanelli and former Welsh Govt Minister Find us on the socials: YouTube: www.youtube.com/@WelshPoliticsPod TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@welshpolitics Instagram: www.instagram.com/welshpoliticspod/ X: www.x.com/WelshPolitics99 BlueSky: www.bsky.app/profile/welshpolitics.bsky.social Web: www.welsh-politics.com Produced by Richard Martin for Mimosa Cymru Artwork by Alison Hurren Music: Where Is It Instrumental by Jonworthymusic Press/Media queries to [email protected]

Recorded in the week of the Labour Party's Manifesto launch for Wales, we take a look at the outline of how the party is seeking to win over over voters. We also look at the credibility of the approach and prospect - and mechanics - of how a manifesto can open the door for coalition or collaboration in the subsequent parliamentary term. Of course we also cover the latest polling, the ongoing constitutional friction inter-government and intra-party, and talk about the Wales Green Party prospects. #Senedd26 #Wales #cymru Your hosts: Prof Laura McAllister of the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University, former national football team captain and Vice President at UEFA Lauren McEvatt, political commentator and former Conservative Special Advisor to the Wales Office in UK Govt Lee Waters, Labour Party Member of the Senedd for Llanelli and former Welsh Govt Minister Find us on the socials: YouTube: www.youtube.com/@WelshPoliticsPod TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@welshpolitics Instagram: www.instagram.com/welshpoliticspod/ X: www.x.com/WelshPolitics99 BlueSky: www.bsky.app/profile/welshpolitics.bsky.social Web: www.welsh-politics.com Produced by Richard Martin for Mimosa Cymru Artwork by Alison Hurren Music: Where Is It Instrumental by Jonworthymusic Press/Media queries to [email protected]

We've always said that we're trying to get under the surface of Welsh politics and there are few guests we could find that that can truly say that they have been at the heart of events like Des Clifford, who has, in one form or another - from Head of News to Head of the First Minister's civil service team - been inside Welsh Government since 1997. Des joins us to discuss preparations for a new government, the state of the civil service, and the thorny questions of relations with the UK Government and the future of the Wales Office. #Senedd26 #Wales #cymru Your hosts: Prof Laura McAllister of the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University, former national football team captain and Vice President at UEFA Lauren McEvatt, political commentator and former Conservative Special Advisor to the Wales Office in UK Govt Lee Waters, Labour Party Member of the Senedd for Llanelli and former Welsh Govt Minister Find us on the socials: YouTube: www.youtube.com/@WelshPoliticsPod TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@welshpolitics Instagram: www.instagram.com/welshpoliticspod/ X: www.x.com/WelshPolitics99 BlueSky: www.bsky.app/profile/welshpolitics.bsky.social Web: www.welsh-politics.com Produced by Richard Martin for Mimosa Cymru Artwork by Alison Hurren Music: Where Is It Instrumental by Jonworthymusic Press/Media queries to [email protected]

This week we're looking beyond the election. Whichever party leads the next government is going to face a spectrum of difficult decisions that will come as a shock after the 'hopey changey stuff' of the campaign. We're helped in our debate by two detailed reports examining the reality of government in Cardiff Bay: - The Wales Fiscal Analysis team at the Wales Governance Centre published 'Setting the Scene: Wales on the eve of the 2026 Senedd Election: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/wales-governance-centre/publications/finance - And the Institute for Fiscal Studies published 'Public service spending and performance in Wales': https://ifs.org.uk/publications/public-service-spending-and-performance-wales #Senedd26 #Wales #cymru Your hosts: Prof Laura McAllister of the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University, former national football team captain and Vice President at UEFA Lauren McEvatt, political commentator and former Conservative Special Advisor to the Wales Office in UK Govt Lee Waters, Labour Party Member of the Senedd for Llanelli and former Welsh Govt Minister Find us on the socials: YouTube: www.youtube.com/@WelshPoliticsPod TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@welshpolitics Instagram: www.instagram.com/welshpoliticspod/ X: www.x.com/WelshPolitics99 BlueSky: www.bsky.app/profile/welshpolitics.bsky.social Web: www.welsh-politics.com Produced by Richard Martin for Mimosa Cymru Artwork by Alison Hurren Music: Where Is It Instrumental by Jonworthymusic Press/Media queries to [email protected]

As we close out a week of launches for manifestos, election pledges, and plans for the first 100 days of government, we check in and debate the Senedd campaign and pick the bones of the Gorton and Denton by-election and touch on the impact of global events and espionage revelations on domestic politics. #Senedd26 #Wales #cymru Your hosts: Prof Laura McAllister of the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University, former national football team captain and Vice President at UEFA Lauren McEvatt, political commentator and former Conservative Special Advisor to the Wales Office in UK Govt Lee Waters, Labour Party Member of the Senedd for Llanelli and former Welsh Govt Minister Find us on the socials: YouTube: www.youtube.com/@WelshPoliticsPod TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@welshpolitics Instagram: www.instagram.com/welshpoliticspod/ X: www.x.com/WelshPolitics99 BlueSky: www.bsky.app/profile/welshpolitics.bsky.social Web: www.welsh-politics.com Produced by Richard Martin for Mimosa Cymru Artwork by Alison Hurren Music: Where Is It Instrumental by Jonworthymusic Press/Media queries to [email protected]

The Senedd has a turnout problem. Since 1999 no nationwide election has seen more that 50% of eligible voters cast their vote. Will 2026 be the year that all changes? With the leading contenders to lead the next government providing radically different visions of Wales's future, could partisanship or negative partisanship drive engagement. Will we see a surge of young voters or previous non-voters, or neither? We discuss! #Senedd26 #Wales #cymru Your hosts: Prof Laura McAllister of the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University, former national football team captain and Vice President at UEFA Lauren McEvatt, political commentator and former Conservative Special Advisor to the Wales Office in UK Govt Lee Waters, Labour Party Member of the Senedd for Llanelli and former Welsh Govt Minister Find us on the socials: YouTube: www.youtube.com/@WelshPoliticsPod TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@welshpolitics Instagram: www.instagram.com/welshpoliticspod/ X: www.x.com/WelshPolitics99 BlueSky: www.bsky.app/profile/welshpolitics.bsky.social Web: www.welsh-politics.com Produced by Richard Martin for Mimosa Cymru Artwork by Alison Hurren Music: Where Is It Instrumental by Jonworthymusic Press/Media queries to [email protected]

While Wales continue to struggle on the field of play, there have been high profile and repeated problems with the WRU's institutional governance that are playing a significant role in the malaise about what was once unquesionably the national sport of Wales. It is, of course, not just the WRU that is struggling. Parliamentary scrutiny in both union and national parliaments is troublingly weak much of the time and there are countless other national Welsh institutions where better questions should be asked of their leadership. Is Wales uniquely poor in this regard and, if so, can we do anything about it in the next Senedd? We discuss! #Senedd26 #Wales #cymru Your hosts: Prof Laura McAllister of the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University, former national football team captain and Vice President at UEFA Lauren McEvatt, political commentator and former Conservative Special Advisor to the Wales Office in UK Govt Lee Waters, Labour Party Member of the Senedd for Llanelli and former Welsh Govt Minister Find us on the socials: YouTube: www.youtube.com/@WelshPoliticsPod TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@welshpolitics Instagram: www.instagram.com/welshpoliticspod/ X: www.x.com/WelshPolitics99 BlueSky: www.bsky.app/profile/welshpolitics.bsky.social Web: www.welsh-politics.com Produced by Richard Martin for Mimosa Cymru Artwork by Alison Hurren Music: Where Is It Instrumental by Jonworthymusic Press/Media queries to [email protected]