Who was the real winner in the Senedd election? On one hand, Plaid Cymru finished first and established itself as the dominant parliamentary force with 43 seats, a result that gave it the clearest claim to political authority and momentum. On the other, Reform UK delivered the election’s most dramatic shock, storming into Welsh politics with a remarkable 34-seat breakthrough and fundamentally reshaping the political landscape. The contest, then, is not simply about who came first, but about which result mattered more: Plaid’s emergence as the leading party or Reform’s extraordinary insurgent surge. What happens next could prove even more important: Plaid may now try to lead the next Welsh government through coalition-building or a minority administration, while Reform’s rise could harden political polarisation, weaken the old Labour-centered order, and push Welsh politics into a far more fragmented and unpredictable era.

Paradoxically, it can go along making points and putting in the public eye the failures making it a tough road for Plaid?