Plaid Cymru: Llyr Gruffydd interim leader after Price quits

Llyr Gruffydd will take over as interim leader of Plaid Cymru following the resignation of Adam Price, the party has announced.

Mr Gruffydd, who represents North Wales in the Senedd, will not stand in the forthcoming leadership contest.

His appointment was agreed at a meeting of the party's Senedd members on Thursday morning.

It will need to be rubber-stamped by the party's National Council on Saturday.

Mr Price quit following months of difficulties in Plaid and a week after a report found misogyny, harassment and bullying in the party.

In recent months claims have been made of a "toxic culture", while an allegation of a sexual assault was made against a senior member of staff.

Mr Gruffydd told BBC Radio Cymru he would take a "muscular" response to the findings.

On Thursday the Welsh government confirmed Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford and Mr Gruffydd had had an "informal" conversation.

In a statement earlier Mr Drakeford said discussions on his co-operation agreement with Plaid will take place "in light of recent developments".

He thanked Mr Price "for the constructive way the Welsh government and Plaid Cymru have worked together".

The deal, struck in late 2021, backs a series of policies agreed between the two parties, including expanding the Senedd.

In his resignation letter, he said he no longer had the "united support" of his colleagues.

Mr Price said he had wanted to resign in the wake of the report's findings, but was initially persuaded not to quit.

"You have my personal assurance that I will continue to serve my country, my constituents and our party with determination and enthusiasm," he said in a letter to party chairman Marc Jones.

Speaking to BBC Radio Cymru's Dros Ginio programme, Mr Gruffydd said it would be a "challenge" to respond to Nerys Evans' report into the party's internal culture.

"I do think, because I know this is for a specific period, I can go about it in a more muscular, more direct way to ensure that some of the difficult conversations that need to take place do happen."

Later he said he believed the party was safe for women to join.

"Obviously no party and no organisation is immune from these wider societal issues," he said. "That's in no way abdicating our responsibility to get our house in order.

"We're being honest and transparent with people - we're turning the page."

The resignation announcement was made following a meeting of the party's ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC) on Wednesday night.

One source from the meeting said some members raised the possibility of Mr Price remaining in post.

But it was considered untenable given the seriousness of the findings of the review.

Mr Price's resignation letter claimed that senior figures in the party, including Plaid Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts, had initially discouraged him from quitting.

Liz Saville Roberts said Mr Price was not asked to resign in the wake of the "toxic culture" report because "stability" was needed to implement its recommendations.

Speaking on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, Ms Saville Roberts said: "Effective leadership is about balancing conflicting demands.

"What we felt strongly was that we needed a collegiate approach within the party because it (the report) cuts across all aspects of the party and it requires a change of culture.

"In order to do that we would need stability."

She also told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast that Mr Price had to go because he had become a "distraction".

She ruled herself out of a leadership contest, saying any new leader would have to be an elected member in the Senedd.

"I'm an MP in Westminster so that's done and dusted," she said.

On being appointed interim leader, Mr Gruffydd said: I would like to thank Adam on behalf of the Plaid Cymru Senedd group for his vision, commitment, and dedication over the last four years.

"Our focus is now on moving forward together to deliver on behalf of the people of Wales, and to foster a better culture within the party. I hope members will entrust me with the responsibility of leading that work until we elect a new leader."

Mr Drakeford said: "I want to thank Adam Price for the constructive way the Welsh government and Plaid Cymru have worked together to develop and implement the co-operation agreement. These shared priorities are making a real difference to people across Wales.

"The co-operation agreement is an agreement between the Welsh government and Plaid Cymru - not between individuals. There will be discussions about the agreement in light of recent developments."