The Will Hayward Newsletter

It’s week two in the Senedd and we now have a new leader of the opposition. Nigel Farage was in Cardiff on Monday to announce Reform’s new head of the Senedd group following a very close vote. We also have Plaid’s programme of government, the latest NHS waiting list figures and plenty more. Yesterday, Nigel Farage took a rare trip outside of Clacton to visit Cardiff Bay and announce Reform’s new leader in Wales Helen Jenner.

Early next week Nigel Farage will be in south Wales. It seems likely he will be announcing Reform’s new leader inside the Senedd. As I understand it, there are real concerns within the party about more potential defections. Plaid is an unlikely destination but the prospect of a few Reform MSs setting up a Restore or independent group is still a real risk. Mr Farage will be hoping to steady the ship.

Reporting by the Newsletter Team Hi everyone, Well, has everyone caught their breath after yesterday’s events? If you missed it, by the end of Tuesday, the first day back after the Senedd recess, Dan Thomas had resigned as Reform’s Welsh leader and another one of their members had announced she was defecting to Plaid. We broke it all down last night and you can read that here. We have also had an agreement between Plaid, the SNP and Sinn Fein, some brand new polling for Wales and plenty more.

Blimey. The Senedd’s first day back in session was… eventful. Reform’s chief in Wales Dan Thomas has resigned. It emerged throughout today that the leader of the opposition in the Welsh Parliament has been arrested and bailed on suspicion of assault and coercive or controlling behaviour. Just an hour later, a Reform MS defected to Plaid Cymru and issued a damning statement about the state of Nigel Farage’s party. I was working from the Senedd today and we are going to break down how it all unfolded.

Hello, We have a lot of variety for you today. We are going to analyse a big decision facing the Welsh Government about a major infrastructure project. Break down a new poll looking at Welsh independence. The figures for some demographics are stark and should be a real concern for unionists going forward. Explore what happens to Reform in Wales if Farage is no longer leader… (it could be an implosion) Before we dive in, just some newsletter news.

Reporting by the Newsletter Team Hi all! We’ve got one more week until it all kicks off again in the Senedd, but there is still plenty to talk about. We have some really concerning PISA results, adult men getting angry about a flag and some innovative farmers as well as plenty more. Just as a heads up, we are going to be addressing the ongoing fallout regarding Reform and their apparent overseas donations looking at what this means for Wales at the weekend.

“Vote for us, we have a plan” In essence, this was the message from Plaid leader Rhun ap Iorwerth before the Senedd election. That plan was written down and presented to reporters at their St David’s Day conference. Titled “The First 100 Days” it laid out over 90 pledges that a Plaid Government would do in their first three months in government.

Reporting by Will Hayward and Ryan O’Neill When Plaid published their 100-day plan in February at the party conference in Newport’s International Convention Centre, it was sold as a bold outline for how they would hit the ground running in government.

Reporting by the Newsletter Team Hello everyone, We are so excited to be back after a few weeks off with the midweek briefing. For new subscribers, the midweek newsletter is typically an overview of the latest in Welsh politics while the Sunday newsletter takes a more in-depth look at a single issue or story. Today, Rhun ap Iorwerth took questions from the media as he presented his progress after his first 100 days in power.

Bore da, I hope you have all managed to get some time away with family and loved ones over the summer. This week marks two years since I handed in my notice at WalesOnline and went off on my own. The last 24 months have exceeded my wildest dreams. Every week, this newsletter drops into the inbox of 16,000 people. Totting up the total wordcount across all of the newsletters since we started, we have exceeded 550,000 words.