Politics

Rhup ap Iorwerth, the leader of Plaid Cymru, gives speech on Wales’ future on the Senedd steps. BBC News

In Barnsley, south Yorkshire, 50 years of Labour rule ended on Friday with Reform UK taking control. Voters in the area said they wanted to see change, with one saying Labour had abandoned the working class. For others, a dislike for Keir Starmer was their main motivation when casting their …

Plaid Cymru became the largest party in Wales this week after winning 43 of the 96 seats in the Senedd. Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth is now in discussions with other parties to form a new government, but some people have been left wondering how you pronounce his name. In this …

A Labour MP said: “Not sure voters in Wigan, Wandsworth, Salford or Sunderland voted Reform because they thought we needed more advisers from a different era of Labour politics. I think this shows that Keir doesn’t even understand the problem, never mind the solution.” BBC News

Before the polls even opened on Thursday, one thing everyone knew for sure was that the SNP would be the largest party in Holyrood. The outstanding questions were by what margin, and whether they would get a majority. Well, now we know. Politics latest updates: Starmer vows to fight on …

BBC Wales journalist Megan Davies explains how to pronounce Rhun ap Iorwerth and Plaid Cymru BBC News

A Reform UK spokesman says the party will “welcome scrutiny”, following its sweeping election gains. BBC News

Sir Keir Starmer should continue as prime minister despite Labour’s devastating election results – but needs to make changes because “more of the same is not acceptable”, former deputy leader Harriet Harman has said. It comes after Labour suffered huge losses in the elections across England, Scotland and Wales. The …

Watch the highlights from Scottish election results day. BBC News

Labour has lost its birthplace and its heartlands.  For more than a century, Welsh politics and the Labour Party were inseparable. On Friday, that historic bond was shattered. Wales was once the land of Labour giants: Keir Hardie, Aneurin Bevan, Michael Foot, James Callaghan and Neil Kinnock – all politicians …

The Tories had a grim night at the polls, losing seats to both Reform and the Liberal Democrats. BBC News

Robert Jenrick and Victoria Atkins, both former Tory ministers, were reunited in an awkward moment during the BBC’s election coverage. “Rob has not spoken to me since he left the Conservative Party – in the way that he did. And I considered us to be very good friends,” she said. …

The party did not gain enough seats to take control of the council after an unexpected result. BBC News

Leeds City Council saw devastating Labour losses and gains from Reform and Green. BBC News

Sir Keir Starmer is facing what looks like a coordinated attempt to get him to set a timetable for his departure. BBC News

The Greens secured their first-ever elected mayors and took control of councils, including Norwich. BBC News

“We’ve been so used to thinking about politics in terms of left and right, yet what Reform are able to do is to win in areas that have always been Conservative, but equally, we’re proving in a big way that we could win in areas that Labour has dominated since …

Allies of Andy Burnham have met to discuss how Sir Keir Starmer can be forced to set a timetable for his resignation following catastrophic election results, Sky News understands. The meeting was of Labour MPs aligned with Mainstream – a centre-left network of activists set up last year to act …

Labour ran the council for more than 50 years but a new raft of Reform councillors are now in power. BBC News

Henry Zeffman: Election results leave Starmer vulnerable BBC News