Plaid Cymru: Mark Drakeford, Andrew RT Davies and Elin Jones pay tribute in Senedd as Adam Price steps down
Party leaders have paid tribute in the Senedd to Adam Price as he steps down as leader of Plaid Cymru.
Mr Price thanked his family in his final contribution to First Minister’s Questions as party leader.
He thanked “everyone who’s shown kindness to me in recent days” after he stepped down following a damning report into allegations of a “toxic culture” within Plaid – the Senedd’s only party which supports independence for Wales.
“The final but most important thanks is to my family who are here today and are looking forward to more of my presence over the years ahead of us,” he added.
Llyr Gruffydd will take over as interim leader of the party on Wednesday, while nominations for contenders wishing to become the next permanent leader will close on 16 June.
Mr Price also thanked Mark Drakeford, the first minister of Wales, with whom he negotiated a cooperation agreement between the Labour government and Plaid Cymru following the last election.
“Leading a party is not an easy task but it is even more difficult to lead a nation,” he said.
“Your performance as first minister has always felt like an extended audition to become in the future Welsh republic our version of Michael D Higgins.”
There was laughter from members as Mr Price added: “It is a compliment coming from us.”
Adam Price, when he was first elected Plaid Cymru leader in 2018
Pride despite ‘painful’ resignation
The outgoing leader of Plaid Cymru, who has been in post since 2018, indicated how difficult his decision to resign had been.
“Good government needs good scrutiny and accountability is the bedrock of any democracy, not just for governments but oppositions too and that means not just seeking responsibility in others but accepting it in oneself, painful though that sometimes may be,” he said.
He ended his contribution to FMQs with a rallying cry to make the Senedd more representative of those who elect it.
“It took a long while for this gay council house boy from Tumble to have pride in himself,” he added.
“I never would have believed back then that I would get to sit in this chair.
“I want the youth of our country, women and men in equal number, every race, every creed, LGBTQ+ and disabled, the working class especially, to feel as if this place belongs to them, represents them, speaks for them as much as it does for anyone.
“I want them to see people like them occupying my chair, your chair, every chair.”
First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford (left) and Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price outside the Senedd
Drakeford hails ‘enormous amount of agreement’
Mr Drakeford said in response: “We disagree on many things, and that’s the beauty of our democracy is that we can do that and we can do that here while knowing that behind those individual examples of disagreement, there lies an enormous amount of agreement about the purpose of politics here in Wales.”
Leader of the opposition, Andrew RT Davies, added: “I would like to thank him [Adam Price] for the courtesies he has extended to me during our time as leaders of our various groups here.
“Our politics are completely different, and I am sure he enjoyed that endorsement, but it is always good outside of the political environment where you can share a light-hearted moment.”
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The Llywydd (presiding officer), Elin Jones, made a jovial reference to the length of Mr Price’s final statement.
“Indeed, Adam Price, true to your word you did test the patience of the Llywydd with the length of… your final statement,” she said.
“But best wishes to you, Adam, for your future in this Senedd,” she added.
Spain is to legalise about 300,000 undocumented migrants a year – at a time that many European countries are seeking to limit or deter migration.
The policy, approved on Tuesday by Spain’s left-wing minority coalition government, aims to tackle the country’s ageing workforce and low birthrate.
Around 250,000 registered foreign workers a year are needed to maintain the country’s welfare state, according to migration minister Elma Saiz.
The scheme, due to run from May next year until 2027, will allow foreigners living in Spain without proper documentation to obtain work permits and residency.
The exact number of foreigners living in Spain without documentation is unclear.
However, around 54,000 undocumented migrants reached Spain so far this year by sea or land, according to government figures.
Many arrive via the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago located off the coast of northwestern Africa.
Spain’s minister of inclusion, social security and migration, Elma Saiz. Pic: AP
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The figure compares to the 30,000 people who have arrived in the UK via small boats across the Channel so far in 2024.
The UK, as well as other European nations, including Germany, France, and the Netherlands, have in recent years taken tougher stances on migration.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
However, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has often described his government’s migration policies as a way to combat the country’s low birthrate.
The government’s new policy simplifies the administrative processes for short and long-term visas and provides migrants with additional workplace protections.
It also extends a visa offered previously to job-seekers for three months to one year.
Many migrants make a living in Spain’s underground economy as fruit pickers, caretakers, delivery drivers, or other low-paid jobs.
Migration minister Ms Saiz said the government’s new policy would help prevent abuse and “serve to combat mafias, fraud and the violation of rights”.
World
Alec Baldwin’s Rust premieres three years after fatal shooting – but cinematographer’s mother refuses to attend
Alec Baldwin’s Western film Rust has premiered at a festival in Poland, three years after the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on set.
The movie debuted at the Camerimage Festival in Poland, an event focusing on achievements in cinematography, to an audience of a few hundred – a more low-key affair than the typical fanfare of Hollywood releases.
Director Joel Souza, who was wounded in the shooting, said he hoped the completed film would now be a tribute to Ms Hutchins – who died after a prop gun held by Baldwin went off during filming in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in October 2021.
Rust director Joel Souza attended the film’s premiere in Poland. Pic: Reuters
Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter and went on trial in July – but the case was dismissed in dramatic fashion during the hearing after the prosecution was accused of concealing ammunition evidence.
The star did not attend the premiere in Poland.
Speaking beforehand, Souza said it “wasn’t an easy decision by any means” to continue the film after Hutchins’s death, “but it became important to me and important to her husband that people see her final work”.
The church scene they were working on when Hutchins was shot has gone from the film, he said.
“It doesn’t exist anymore. We were never going to finish that… I changed the script and so I wiped that out of it.”
Cinematographer’s mother criticises Baldwin
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Pic: Swen Studios/Handout via Reuters
Bianca Cline, the cinematographer who completed the film, also attended the event.
Ms Hutchins’s mother Olga Solovey, who has filed a lawsuit against Baldwin, did not attend and criticised the star for allegedly “unjustly” profiting from the tragedy.
In a statement issued by her lawyer, Gloria Allred, she said she had always hoped to watch her daughter’s “work come alive on screen” alongside her.
However, this opportunity was “ripped away”, she said.
Ms Solovey said Baldwin had not apologised to her and that her pain was increased by his “refusal to take responsibility”. She said there had been “no justice” for her daughter.
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Watch: Alec Baldwin’s case dismissed
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Rust’s armourer Hannah Gutierrez, who was in charge of weapons on the set, was jailed for 18 months earlier this year, after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter during a trial separate to Baldwin’s. She is appealing the sentence.
Rust is billed as the story of a 13-year-old boy who, left to fend for himself and his younger brother following their parents’ deaths in 1880s Wyoming, goes on the run with his long-estranged grandfather after being sentenced to hang for the accidental killing of a local rancher.
The Polish festival’s ticketing website reportedly crashed on Tuesday morning due to high demand for tickets to the world premiere.
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