Eluned Morgan not drawn on Plaid Cymru election pact

Eluned Morgan took over as Wales' first minister in August 2024

Labour First Minister Eluned Morgan has refused to say whether she would work with a Plaid Cymru first minister if her party loses next year's Senedd election.

Morgan admitted Labour faced a "challenge" with opinion polls suggesting other parties are gaining support at their expense.

But she said she was focused on remaining in her job and not talking about potential agreements with other parties after polling day next May.

Labour has been in power in Cardiff Bay since devolution began in 1999, often through coalitions and agreements with parties on the left.

Support for the party in recent opinion polls has been much lower than in previous Senedd elections - and behind Plaid Cymru and Reform UK.

Morgan was asked if she would be willing to form a coalition under the leadership of Plaid Cymru in a hung parliament, in order to keep Reform UK out of power.

"I'm not going to deal with that situation until we know where we stand," she said in an interview with BBC-produced Newyddion S4C.

She said she was focused on ensuring Labour "is top when it comes to the election".

"That's the important thing. That's what we're working towards," she said.

"But what is important is that people understand the threat of Reform. If they come in, what would happen to our public services?

"I am very keen to ensure that I will continue as first minister of Wales," she added.

Addressing her party's poll ratings, she said she was aware it faced a challenge.

But she said she wanted to focus on the public's priorities, including treatment times in the NHS, while insisting Labour would lay out a vision for the future in the coming months.

She also said an increase in the Welsh government's budget, thanks to additional spending in Westminster, was bearing fruit.

Morgan has said she is prepared to criticise the policies of Sir Keir Starmer's UK government when necessary, although she did not go so far as criticising Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's decision to ban Palestine Action - a decision that has split opinion within the Labour Party.

"What is important to me is to recognise that people have a right to protest and also that it is important that we recognise the situation in Palestine," she said.

"People are suffering badly there and we have to be, I think, working more actively towards peace in that country."