Welsh Labour faces existential crisis, says former minister

Lee Waters, former Welsh Labour transport minister, called the Senedd results a painful slow-motion collapse, with Labour saved from wipeout by winning only nine seats. Labour finished third behind Plaid Cymru with 43 seats and Reform with 34 seats, ending a streak of winning every Cardiff Bay election since 1999. Waters said Labour was within 4,000 votes of the Conservatives and cited no single cause, urging first principles and confronting the defeat’s depth. He linked part of the loss to the controversial default 20mph law, saying it consumed political capital despite delivering benefits. He also warned that governing in Cardiff Bay requires difficult, costly trade-offs after moving from opposition.

"“This is an existential crisis and I think Labour now needs to go back to first principles and rethink what it is for. ” “We came within 4,000 votes of the Conservatives, that's how bad it was.”"

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