2021 Welsh Labour–Plaid Cymru agreement

Talks were conducted over summer 2021, with the two parties publicly reporting they were in talks in September 2021. Reports of the two close to reaching a final agreement were raised on 19 November 2021, although details were not provided as it still required ratification by both parties.[3][7][8]

When reports of talks were raised in September 2021, BBC News stated the two parties are likely to agree on Senedd reform, social care, council tax reform, free school meals and tackling second homes, but disagree on Welsh independence.[9]

The Welsh Liberal Democrats, who have one MS, just enough to achieve a working majority with Welsh Labour, was not involved in any talks with the Welsh Government, despite a previous coalition between the Liberal Democrats and Welsh Labour. The leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Jane Dodds MS, said not being in talks was "right". UK Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey, supported the Welsh branch not being in talks, allowing Dodds, the party's sole Welsh MS, to be an independent opposition voice, and said a deal was never proposed to the party by the Welsh Government.[10]

The executive committees of Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru approved a deal for the two to cooperate in the Senedd on 21 November 2021.[4] Also further support from Plaid Cymru's party membership was still required at the time.[11]

The agreement was formally announced on 22 November 2021, by both leaders in front of the Senedd building.[2] Welsh Labour leader and first minister Mark Drakeford stated the agreement would bring a "stable Senedd" which can deliver "radical change and reform". Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price, called it "historic" for Wales, and allowed the party to both push its main priorities and criticise Labour on issues not in the agreement.[2] At Plaid Cymru's conference on 26 November, Price described the agreement as "a new kind of politics" and a "down-payment [...] on independence", that allowed the party to become a "co-opposition party" rather than just a traditional opposition party.[12] The agreement involved only Welsh Labour government ministers and not the party's backbench members, according to those backbench members.[13]

The Plaid Cymru membership ratified the agreement during their annual conference on 27 November 2021 after 94% of the party's members supported the agreement,[14] and on 1 December 2021, the agreement came into force after the two parties officially signed the agreement.[1][2][15]

Plaid Cymru can appoint special advisers to work within offices of the Welsh Government, but as it is not a coalition, no members of Plaid Cymru's Senedd Group can join the Welsh Government as ministers or deputies.[2] Plaid Cymru would appoint a designated lead member for the agreement. While committees formed of Welsh Government ministers and designated members of Plaid Cymru would be formed to agree on issues covered in the agreement. Funding for the agreement were made part of the Welsh Government's budget.[16] The Welsh Government stated Plaid Cymru can contribute to Welsh Government press releases, and there would be regular joint media briefings with leaders of the two parties.[13]

The agreement was described by the leader of the Scottish National Party, Nicola Sturgeon, as grown up politics. While the Welsh Liberal Democrats commended it. The Conservatives condemned the deal. UK Labour, and its leader Keir Starmer, did not comment on the deal reached by its Welsh branch.[17] Some senior Labour MP's in Wales did not comment on the agreement, a week after it was announced, with only four Labour MP's in Wales commenting with different amounts of praise.[18]

By June 2023, the agreement's designated members from Plaid Cymru were Siân Gwenllian and Cefin Campbell.[19]

The agreement lasts three years and involved the two parties working together in "46 policy areas".[1]

• Free school meals to all pupils in primary schools during the agreement.
• Free childcare for children up to two-years-old, with a focus on Welsh-medium education.
• Look into creating a "National Care Service", by creating an "expert group" to look into the proposal.
• Tackle the second homes crisis and unaffordable housing, using the property, land planning, and taxation systems. This could include proposals on a cap on second/holiday homes, increase common ownership, a holiday let licensing scheme, providing greater powers to local authorities to allow them charge council tax premiums or higher taxes, or allow local authority mortgages.
• Create "Unnos" – National construction company, to increase the supply of affordable and social housing.
• Reform building safety system – introduce Welsh Building Safety Fund's second phase.
• White paper on proposals for the "right to adequate housing", the role of a fair rents (rent control) system in the private sector to make homes more affordable, and new general approaches to increasing house affordability.
• End homelessness – reform housing law, enact a "Renting Homes Act", providing "greater security" to those renting, and implement recommendations of the Homeless Action Group.
• Reform Council Tax to "make it fairer".
• Increase procurement in the Welsh public sector (from existing 52%), by setting targets. Analyse the supply chains of the public sector, and the promotion of Welsh produce and services.
• Introduce local tourism levies.

• Seek independent advice on actions needed to reach net zero by 2035 (current target is 2050). This would involve analysing the societal and economic impact and how to mitigate any adverse effects to share costs and benefits. Supporting devolution of further powers to reach net zero, such as devolving the Crown Estate.
• Create "Ynni Cymru" – Welsh publicly owned energy company, to increase renewable energy that is owned by communities, within two years of the agreement.
• Through Transport for Wales, look into North–South Wales transport links, and protecting possible travel corridors along Wales' west coast (the agreement did not specify a railway). Continue development of regional metros to encourage increased use of public transport. Push TfW to develop plans for a North West Wales integrated transport system.
• Set targets and utilise an "environmental governance body" to help protect and restore the biodiversity of Wales.
• Encourage farmers to create woodlands on less productive land, through agro-foresty. Support farmers through a sustainable farming scheme, and looking how to draw investment while securing local ownership and control.
• Work with farming community to improve air and water quality. Using the Water Resources Regulations 2021 to target polluting activities.
• Independent review of the "local government section 19" and the reports of Natural Resources Wales into the 2020–21 winter extreme floods, and act on the review's recommendations.
• More investment in the management and mitigation of flooding. Plan response to increased flooding risk. Through National Infrastructure Commission for Wales assess how to minimise the likelihood of flooding nationwide of businesses, homes and infrastructure, and how to minimise it by 2050.
• Transition period during reform of farm payments into the Sustainable Farming Scheme, through the current Senedd term and beyond.
• Create a community food strategy, encouraging locally sourced food production and supply in Wales.

• Reform the Senedd – increase size to 80–100 members, a more proportional voting system, and introduce statutory gender quotas.
• Support the Independent Commission on Wales' Constitution Future.
• Look into creating a "Broadcasting and Communications Authority for Wales", a shadow body which would specifically support Welsh-language digital media, and media plurality. Support devolution of broadcasting and communication.
• Fund new and existing Welsh journalism enterprises.
• Build on Arfor pilot, which promotes entrepreneurship, business growth, resilience of the community and the Welsh language. Add a second phase of Arfor with local government and contact the OECD in the development of local government models to allow authorities to work together in West Wales and in the South Wales Valleys to tackle inequalities between the poor and rich areas of Wales.
• Look into establishing a "National School for Government" and how it contributes to a "One Wales Public Service" principle.
• Ongoing reviews of regional partnerships, such as the Corporate Joint Committees, to ensure efficiency and whether changes are needed in their operation.
• Co-operate with the Office for Budget Responsibility, the Wales Governance Centre, and others in understanding devolved public financing and the needs of Wales' public services into the future, by addressing possible future funding gaps, how to grow Wales' tax base and any implications from the Constitutional Commission's recommendations.
• Develop a model of supply teaching that is more sustainable, centred on fair work, possible led by local authorities or schools. Oppose the for-profit model in supply teaching and looked after children.
• Aim to reform school term dates to fit family life or employment patterns. Explore school day reform to allow time for a wider range of culturally-accessible activities and opportunities.
• Reform educational qualifications, lining up with Wales' new curriculum, focusing on experiences and wellbeing. Expand range of vocational qualifications that are made-in-Wales.
• Forward the Tertiary Education and Research Bill, introduce a mission-based national innovation strategy. Promote innovation through the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research.

• Develop a culture strategy, promoting diversity, the Welsh language and Wales' arts, culture and heritage, while meeting the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. Develop the proposed national contemporary art gallery for Wales.
• Increase the school teaching of Welsh history in the new Curriculum for Wales.
• Prosiect 2050 – Promote the Welsh language to be used daily in more places. Support Welsh Government sponsored bodies, Wales' local authorities and the Welsh civil service to use Welsh.
• Introduce the Welsh Language Education Bill, alongside non-legislative work, to strengthen the use of Welsh in educational strategy plans. To incentivise and increase the ambition for more of the education workforce to teach and work in Welsh, as well as in all education settings. Establish a Welsh language learning continuum and enable existing schools to become of a higher category Welsh language learning.
• Reduce obstacles in the setting of Welsh Language Standards, in communication with the Welsh Language Commissioner. Make the implementation process for standards more efficient while not weakening them. Implement standards on health sector regulators, public transport, water companies, newly established bodies that are outside the existing standards regime, and start applying them to housing associations by the end of the Senedd term. Fully implement the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 and list the highly prioritised standards under the measure's schedules in need of further rollout beyond the agreement's tenure.
• Promote and safeguard Welsh place names
• Invest in Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and in the National Centre for Learning Welsh, to increase Welsh-medium apprenticeships and Welsh-medium further education, and to provide free Welsh learning to 16–25 year olds.
• Increase the opportunities for learners from a disadvantaged background to participate in the Seren Network. Offer summer schools at Welsh universities for the network's foundation learners. Expand the partnership with Aberystwyth University and Cardiff University and develop new pilot trials at other Welsh institutions.
• Support devolution of welfare administration, and the accompanied financial support. Investigate the infrastructure required for its implementation if devolved.
• Trial community facilities, being run by trained third sector staff which have clear referral pathways into services of the NHS if required, to use the sanctuary model. To support young people with urgent mental health issues, issues to their mental wellbeing or in a crisis, and would take place on open evenings and weekends.
• Improvement disabled peoples' rights and tackle the continued inequalities they face. Commit to a social model of disability. Ensure the Disability Task Force is successful.
• Publish the Race Equality Action Plan, working with communities and bodies such as the courts and Wales' police to develop the plan and tackle systemic and institutionalised racism. Support the devolution of justice and policing.
• Publish the LGTBQ+ Action Plan. Support devolving powers to protect and improve the lives of Trans people.