Eluned Morgan, the First Minister of Wales, has lost her seat in the Senedd in a dire set of elections for Welsh Labour.<\/p>\n
Ms Morgan losing her seat marks the first time a sitting Welsh leader has lost an election in the Welsh parliament.<\/p>\n
Labour has led Wales since the Senedd was first established as the National Assembly for Wales in 1999, and has been the largest party in the country for more than a century.<\/p>\n
Ms Morgan’s departure comes amid a brutal day for the party across Wales and the UK.<\/p>\n
She had been a member of the Senedd since 2016, became a minister in the Welsh government a year later and was the first woman to hold the role of First Minister in Wales.<\/p>\n
She took over at a turbulent time in Welsh Labour, with former first minister Vaughan Gething lasting just five months in the role.<\/p>\n
Ms Morgan’s departure comes as the party expects to be reduced from 30 to around 10 members in the Senedd, with a party spokesperson saying they are “deeply disappointed” they will not lead the government.<\/p>\n
Earlier today, Labour’s deputy leader in Wales appeared to concede a historic defeat in the Senedd elections, after Wales went to the polls yesterday.<\/p>\n
A Welsh Labour spokesperson said: “This has undeniably been a very difficult election for Welsh Labour.<\/p>\n
“We now expect to lose several hardworking and respected Members of the Senedd. We thank them for their service to their communities.<\/p>\n
“It is looking like Welsh Labour will return a group of around 10 MSs – which will at least allow a vocal Labour opposition, even though we are deeply disappointed about not being able to lead a government.”<\/p>\n
Under the new voting system in Wales, there are 16 constituencies, with each represented by six Members of the Senedd – resulting in a total of 96 being elected.<\/p>\n
Huw Irranca-Davies, the deputy first minister, suggested he accepted Labour would not return to power in Wales as ballots were being counted across the nation.<\/p>\n
Asked by the BBC if Labour would be in a position to form the next Welsh government, he replied: “I don’t think we’re going to be in that situation.”<\/p>\n