In Ceredigion Penfro, the Senedd Elections saw Plaid Cymru come out on top, winning 31,943 votes, with Reform in second with 23,003 votes. Following the result, Eluned Morgan said she was stepping down as leader of Welsh Labour after losing her seat.

The Conservatives took 14,789 votes; and Labour just 6,495 votes.

Ceredigion Penfro will be represented in Cardiff Bay by three Plaid Cymru MSs, two Reform and one Conservative.

Elin Jones was Plaid’s lead candidate. Former Welsh Tory Senedd leader Paul Davies returns to the Senedd.

Wales’ First Minister and Welsh Labour leader Eluned Morgan lost her seat in the Senedd following the declaration in the Ceredigion Penfro constituency.

She becomes the first leader of a government in the UK to lose their seat while in office.

Following the result, Eluned Morgan said she was "stepping down as leader of Welsh Labour" in a speech after the results were announced.

Morgan said she takes responsibility for the Labour result in Wales, and that the people of Wales "rejected Welsh Labour".

She said that being First Minister has been the "privilege of my life" and as the first woman to lead the nation.

From left to right: Cris Tomos; Kerry Ferguson; Elin Jones; and Anna Nicholl
From left to right: Plaid Cymru’s Cris Tomos; Kerry Ferguson; Elin Jones; and Anna Nicholl (Plaid Cymru Ceredigion Pembrokeshire)

Prime Minister Keir Starmer released the following statement: “I want to thank Eluned Morgan for the over 30 years of service she has already given to our country and our party.

“Eluned has been a formidable First Minister and tireless champion for Wales.

“She broke barriers and has never stopped fighting for families in the communities she loves. Together we have worked to lift children out of poverty, cut hospital waiting lists, and create thousands of new jobs.

“I have no doubt her contribution to Wales will endure.”

The results were as follows:

Welsh Conservatives - 14,789

Gwlad - 802

Heritage - 442

Plaid Cymru - 31,943

Greens - 6,324

Reform - 23,003

Labour - 6,495

Lib Dem - 4,613

Aaron Carey - 368

George Chadzy - 286

Paul Haywood Dowson - 88

Seat 1 - Plaid’s Elin Jones; Seat 2 - Reform’s Susan Archibald; Seat 3 - Plaid’s Kerry Ferguson; Seat 4 - Conservative’s Paul Davies; Seat 5 - Reform’s Paul Marr; Seat 6 - Plaid’s Anna Nicholl.

The First Minister was one of 44 candidates for the Ceredigion Penfro, seven of them Labour, with a total of six seats up for grabs.

Baroness Morgan first became an MS in 2016, becoming the sixth First Minister, and the first woman to hold the post, in 2024.

The First Minister entered the count at held at Llandysul’s Ysgol Bro Teifi to a media scrum, the results for the party seeing it only slightly ahead of the Green party.

Out of 89,402 votes cast, Plaid Cymru gained 31,943; Reform 23,003; Welsh Conservatives 14,789; Labour 6,495; Green 6,324; Liberal Democrats 4,613; Gwlad 802; Heritage Party 442; Aaron Carey 368; George Alexander Chadzy 286, and Paul Haywood Dowson 88.