The pro-independence party in Wales won the region's parliamentary elections. Catastrophic defeat for Labour

The Labor Party suffered a crushing defeat in Thursday's local elections in Wales, which were won by the pro-independence party Plaid Cymru, according to the final count carried out by the BBC on Friday evening, reports AFP, taken over by Agerpres.

This is the first time the Labor Party has lost its majority in the Welsh parliament since it was formed in 1999.

According to the BBC count, the Plaid Cymru party won 43 of the 96 seats. He is followed by the anti-immigration party Reform UK, with 34 seats, and the Labor Party, with nine seats.

Plaid Cymru – which still did not reach the absolute majority, set at 49 seats – dethroned the Labor Party which had been ruling this region with about 3.3 million inhabitants for over a century.

These results show “that we need the Labor government at national level to change direction”, said Eluned Morgan, the Welsh first minister, in a clear criticism of the British Labor leader Keir Starmer.

Morgan, who lost his seat in parliament, admitted Welsh Labor had a “catastrophic result”, ending a century of Labor victories in Wales.

Left-wing Plaid Cymru is set to form the next Welsh government, its leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has said.

“We won because we embody hope in the face of division, credibility in the face of chaos and progress in the face of stagnation,” he said.

The Welsh Parliament has broad prerogatives in areas such as health, housing, education, transport, the environment or certain fiscal responsibilities.