Rhun ap Iorwerth unveils Plaid Cymru cabinet in Wales' first Plaid-led government

First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth on Wednesday named his ministerial team for Wales' first ever Plaid Cymru government, with Sioned Williams as deputy first minister and former presiding officer Elin Jones as finance minister.

Ap Iorwerth, confirmed as first minister on Tuesday after Plaid became the largest party in the Senedd in an historic election that ended Labour's 27-year rule in Wales, said the cabinet represented a "wholesale" change of approach. Introducing his ministers on the steps of the government's headquarters in Cardiff, he promised a government "for all of the people of Wales."

"We will begin the government in earnest as a united team, of energy, talent and experience, ready to serve," ap Iorwerth said.

The cabinet includes former Plaid leader Adam Price as cabinet minister for enterprise, connectivity and energy, and former Westminster MP Elfyn Llwyd as counsel general designate, the government's chief legal adviser — a post that requires Senedd approval. Mabon ap Gwynfor becomes health and care minister, Anna Brychan is education and Welsh language minister, and Heledd Fychan takes the role of trefnydd, chief whip and minister for culture and sport.

Other cabinet appointments include Dafydd Trystan Davies as minister for government effectiveness and the constitution; Llŷr Gruffydd for rural resilience and sustainability; Siân Gwenllian for local government, housing and planning; Nerys Evans for public and preventative health; Delyth Jewell for social care, mental health and women's health; Mark Hooper for transport; and Cefin Campbell for skills and tertiary education. Sioned Williams also serves as minister for social justice and equality.

In a statement released after the cabinet was announced, ap Iorwerth said the government would have a "relentless focus on doing what's best for Wales." "Our pledge is simple — to repay people's trust in us as quickly as we can, bringing the nation together. A new era of leadership starts today," he said.

Reform UK's Welsh leader Dan Thomas said "the people of Wales need this cabinet to succeed." "Our NHS, our schools and our economy need urgent change, and while I may disagree with Plaid, we all need them to succeed," he said. "We will scrutinise their actions and work to ensure that their attention is on our public services and not Welsh independence."

Welsh Conservative Senedd leader Darren Millar said the new government had a "monumental task ahead of it" and wanted to see it succeed "where Labour fell short." "We need new ideas and new governance, not the same old politics of the past 27 years," he said.