CYMRU Morning Star supporters meet for the first time at an all-Wales conference today in Cardiff to debate progressive policies for parties in Wales to adopt for the Senedd election in 2026.

Developing left ideas to attract voters to vote for a positive view of a Wales that has a clear idea of how to combat endemic poverty of around 20 per cent and child poverty at a shameful 30 per cent will be central to defeating Reform UK at the ballot box.

After 25 years of devolution, it is also necessary to take stock and analyse the political situation in Wales, the way the nation is heading and how the paper and its allies might influence that direction.

Labour’s general election win last year saw the Tories lose all their seats in the country. The election of 27 Labour MPs out of the reduced Welsh total of 32 seats indicates that Wales is continuing to back the party that has governed since devolution began in 1999. 

But a closer look showed voter turnout was 11 percentage points down on 2019 and Reform UK came second in 13 constituencies. 

Turnout in 2026 will be a factor and the high-water mark of 46.6 per cent in the 2021 election means turnout in Senedd elections has never reached more than half of the electorate. 

If we were to be unkind to Welsh Labour it could be described as “neoliberalism with Welsh characteristics.” The policy of managed decline which has existed since the financial crisis of 2008 continues with the rundown of the Welsh steel industry at Port Talbot, with the British government essentially reaching an agreement with Tata Steel on the same basis as Rishi Sunak’s Tories.  

Some 2,800 of the best-paid manufacturing workers in Wales are to be cast aside and public ownership should be on the agenda with the £500 million of public money to fund a new electric arc furnace.

More recently the Welsh government has abrogated its responsibility for the higher education sector as Cardiff University proposes to shed at least 400 academic jobs and countless professional support staff posts as four departments are closed.

Even more tone-deaf is the Welsh government’s refusal to step in and stop the university from closing down its highly regarded nursing degree course, despite the recruitment crisis for nurses in Wales.

First Minister Eluned Morgan has said her main priority for the 2026 election is to ensure waiting lists are cut and the NHS restored in people’s eyes. But that refusal to step in and save the nursing course tells a different story to the electorate.

People in Wales earn less in comparison to other parts of Britain and the cost-of-living crisis is still affecting people’s lives. Keir Starmer’s decision to keep the two-child benefit cap and cut the winter fuel allowance has incensed people, but in Wales the Welsh government seemingly acts as an apologist for Westminster.

Mark Drakeford is a member of Morgan’s cabinet and it was the wily professor who coined the phrase “clear red water” for his boss Rhodri Morgan when he served as the then first minister’s special adviser. They knew that they had to differentiate between Wales and the neoliberal policies of Tony Blair and the same dynamic applies now.

Nigel Farage has targeted Wales and he held his party’s general election launch event in Merthyr Tydfil, a town steeped in red politics. Reform also held its first party conference in Wales and Farage has been clear that he is targeting the Senedd elections.

When Wales voted for Brexit it was largely the poorer, disadvantaged areas where people felt left behind and ignored by politicians.

An economy based on underemployment, precariousness and low wages only leads to long-term poor health, political apathy and sometimes choosing to vote for the superficial blandishments of the far right.

Developing socialist policies to give people hope is essential for success in 2026. But so will calls for Wales to be given the money it is owed by Westminster from the High-Speed Rail 2 (HS2) project, a change to the devolution funding formula that shortchanges Wales and the devolution of the crown estate. 

The devolution of railway policy to the Senedd, as it is with the parliaments in Scotland and Northern Ireland, with central funding provided on a fair and proportional basis is essential.

These could all be factors to convince a sceptical public that Wales can be trusted to spend money on its own behalf.

The increase in the number of Senedd members to 96 and the closed-list system used for the next election will present problems and opportunities for the left. But it is a double-edged sword as Reform will also benefit.

If the Welsh government introduces automatic voter registration for the 2026 election it will add 400,000 people to the electoral register. This addition will be an unknown factor and while some may not cast their ballot there is a fear that some could be persuaded to vote for Farage as the party promising change.

While no party has enjoyed majority rule in Wales since devolution there has always been some form of coalition government. Much of the radical policies enacted by the Welsh government has come from those loose coalitions and 2026 should be no different.

Today’s Star conference brings progressives together from the trade union movement, from across the political spectrum, peace groups, equality and environmental campaigns. Our paper is an essential bridge to discuss and build radical policies and alliances that will shape the 2026 Senedd election and potential coalitions.