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.”
Read more:
Adam Price: The son of destiny
Plaid Cymru appoints interim leader
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.
US president-elect Donald Trump has suggested Israel and Hamas could agree a Gaza ceasefire by the end of the week.
Talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives resumed in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday, after US President Joe Biden indicated a deal to stop the fighting was “on the brink” on Monday.
A draft agreement has been sent to both sides. It includes provisions for the release of hostages and a phased Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.
Qatar says Israel and Hamas are at their “closest point” yet to a ceasefire deal.
Two Hamas officials said the group has accepted the draft agreement, with Israel still considering the deal.
An Israeli official said a deal is close but “we are not there” yet.
More than 46,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its ground offensive in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Read more:
What’s in the proposed deal?
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on beachfront cafe in Deir al Balah. Pic: Reuters
Biden hails possibility of agreement
President Biden said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians, in his final foreign policy speech as president.
“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace,” he said.
“The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”
Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting.
Analysis:
Deal might be close, but there are many unanswered questions
Pic: Reuters
Trump: ‘We’re very close’
President-elect Donald Trump has also discussed a possible peace deal during a phone interview with the Newsmax channel.
“We’re very close to getting it done and they have to get it done,” he said.
“If they don’t get it done, there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble, like they have never seen before.
“And they will get it done. And I understand there’s been a handshake and they’re getting it finished and maybe by the end of the week. But it has to take place, it has to take place.”
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Donald Trump’s inauguration 2.0
Pic: AP
Israeli official: Former Hamas leader held up deal
Speaking on Tuesday as negotiations resumed in Qatar, an anonymous Israeli official said that an agreement was “close, but we are not there”.
They accused Hamas of previously “dictating, not negotiating” but said this has changed in the last few weeks.
“Yahya Sinwar was the main obstacle for a deal,” they added.
Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind of the 7 October attacks, led Hamas following the assassination of his predecessor but was himself killed in October last year.
Under Sinwar, the Israeli official claimed, Hamas was “not in a rush” to bring a hostage deal but this has changed since his death and since the IDF “started to dismantle the Shia axis”.
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Biden: ‘Never, never, never, ever give up’
Iran ‘weaker than it’s been in decades’
Yesterday, President Biden also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024.
“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” the president said.
Mr Biden claimed America’s adversaries were weaker than when he took office four years ago and that the US was “winning the worldwide competition”.
“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are
weaker,” he said.
“We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
The US president is expected to give a farewell address on Wednesday.
A draft ceasefire deal on the table between Israel and Hamas would see 33 hostages set free and a phased withdrawal of IDF forces from parts of Gaza.
President Joe Biden said an agreement to stop the fighting was “on the brink” and high level negotiations between the two sides resumed in Qatar on Tuesday.
The deal would see a number of things happen in a first stage, with negotiations for the second stage beginning in the third week of the ceasefire.
It would also allow a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been devastated by more than a year of war.
Details of what the draft proposal entails have been emerging on Tuesday, reported by Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages hold photos of their loved ones during a protest on 8 January. Pic: AP
Hostages to be returned
In the first stage of the potential ceasefire, 33 hostages would be set free.
These include women (including female soldiers), children, men over the age of 50, wounded and sick.
Israel believes most of these hostages are alive but there has not been any official confirmation from Hamas.
In return for the release of the hostages, Israel would free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
People serving long sentences for deadly attacks would be included in this but Hamas fighters who took part in the 7 October attack would not be released.
An arrangement to prevent Palestinian “terrorists” from going back to the West Bank would be included in the deal, an anonymous Israeli official said.
Read more:
A timeline of events since the 7 October attacks
The hostages who still haven’t returned home
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in Beit Hanoun in Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
The agreement also includes a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, with IDF troops remaining in the border perimeter to defend Israeli border towns and villages.
Security arrangements would be implemented at the Philadelphi corridor – a narrow strip of land that runs along the border between Egypt and Gaza – with Israel withdrawing from parts of it after the first few days of the deal.
The Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza would start to work gradually to allow the crossing of people who are sick and other humanitarian cases out of Gaza for treatment.
Unarmed North Gaza residents would be allowed to return to their homes, with a mechanism introduced to ensure no weapons are moved there.
“We will not leave the Gaza Strip until all our hostages are back home,” the Israeli official said.
What will happen to Gaza in the future?
There is less detail about the future of Gaza – from how it will be governed, to any guarantees that this agreement will bring a permanent end to the war.
“The only thing that can answer for now is that we are ready for a ceasefire,” the Israeli official said.
“This is a long ceasefire and the deal that is being discussed right now is for a long one. There is a big price for releasing the hostages and we are ready to pay this price.”
The international community has said Gaza must be run by Palestinians, but there has not been a consensus about how this should be done – and the draft ceasefire agreement does not seem to address this either.
In the past, Israel has said it will not end the war leaving Hamas in power. It also previously rejected the possibility of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited governing powers in the West Bank, from taking over the administration of Gaza.
Since the beginning of its military campaign in Gaza, Israel has also said it would retain security control over the territory after the fighting ends.
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