Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth has admitted he has learned hard lessons from the Welsh Government’s summer budget defeat and says he is already working to make sure it does not happen again.
The First Minister said talks with opposition parties have already begun as his government looks to build enough support to get its next budget through the Senedd without a repeat of the embarrassing setback that hit Welsh Labour earlier this year.
It was a significant moment in Welsh political history when the budget was voted down, leaving the government scrambling and exposing just how difficult it is to govern without a majority. For ap Iorwerth, it was a wake-up call that clearly landed.
“We have learned lessons,” he said, making clear that the days of hoping the numbers would somehow work out are over. Instead, the Welsh Government is taking a more proactive approach, getting around the table with opposition politicians early rather than leaving things to the last minute.
Governing in a minority is never straightforward, and the Senedd has become an increasingly unpredictable place. With no single party holding a majority, every major vote is a potential banana skin. The summer budget defeat proved that in the most public way possible.
Opposition parties have varying priorities and demands, and stitching together enough support to pass financial legislation is a serious political challenge. Plaid Cymru, the Conservatives, and others all have their own red lines, and the Welsh Government will need to navigate those carefully if it wants to avoid another defeat that would further damage its authority.
The timing matters too. A second budget defeat would not just be politically embarrassing, it could have real consequences for public services across Wales at a time when councils, the NHS, and other bodies are already under serious financial pressure. Getting the budget passed is not just about political survival, it is about keeping the lights on for services that millions of Welsh people depend on.
Ap Iorwerth has been in the job long enough now to understand that the old ways of doing things are not going to cut it. The Welsh Government cannot simply present a budget and expect it to pass. It needs to build coalitions, make compromises, and bring people along with it.
That is easier said than done, of course. Opposition parties will want concessions, and some of those concessions may not sit comfortably with everyone inside the Welsh Government itself. But the alternative, another high-profile defeat, would be far worse.
Wales is watching to see whether ap Iorwerth can turn words into action. Saying the right things after a defeat is one thing. Actually delivering a budget that gets through the Senedd is another entirely.
What is clear is that the First Minister knows the stakes. The talks have started, the lessons have apparently been learned, and now it is a matter of whether the Welsh Government can put it all together when it counts.