London Daily

Focus on the big picture.

Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price quits after turmoil in his party

Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price quits after turmoil in his party

Adam Price has quit as Plaid Cymru leader after a report found misogyny, harassment and bullying in the party.

A new leader will be in place in the summer, the party has said in a statement released late on Wednesday night.

It follows months of difficulties in Plaid including allegations of a sexual assault and a toxic working culture.

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

He said he 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.

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

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

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

The party's Senedd group will meet on Thursday morning to agree arrangements for an interim leader.

Plaid Cymru is the third largest party in the Welsh Parliament, with 12 Members of the Senedd and three MPs in Westminster.

The pro-independence party is in a co-operation agreement with the Welsh Labour government.

Party chairman Mr Jones thanked Mr Price "for his drive and vision over the past four and a half years".

Mr Price was elected party leader in 2018, when he ousted Leanne Wood.

Welsh Conservative leader, Andrew RT Davies, said: "I have no doubt Adam Price's departure is a moment of personal sadness for him.

"Following the recent report into the culture within their party, it became clear Plaid Cymru politicians no longer had confidence in his leadership, so his departure became inevitable."

Since last year Plaid Cymru has been dogged by claims of a toxic culture in the party, and it emerged last November that an allegation of sexual assault had been made against a senior member of staff.

Separately, a serious allegation was also made about the conduct of a Member of the Senedd, Rhys ab Owen, who is now suspended from the Senedd group pending an investigation.

The party asked Nerys Evans, a lobbyist and former Plaid assembly member, to hold a review last December.

Her working group's report said Plaid needed to "detoxify a culture of harassment, bullying and misogyny".

It said too many instances of bad behaviour were tolerated, and said an anonymous survey of staff and elected members highlighted examples "of sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination".


Mr Price admitted the document left Plaid Cymru "harmed and tarnished". He apologised, but refused to quit.

In his resignation letter, Mr Price said: "On receiving the report, I informed you that I felt morally bound to step down as leader of the party in recognition of our collective failure."

"You counselled against my resignation as you felt it would make it more difficult to achieve progress in implementing the recommendations."

He said he was "persuaded by the argument that my stepping down would be an abdication of responsibility".

But he added: "It is now clear I no longer have the united support of my colleagues that would be necessary to follow this course to fruition."

Newsletter

Related Articles

London Daily
0:00
0:00
Close
Israel Warns France of Iranian Threats at Paris Olympics
Possible Successors to Rishi Sunak as Conservative Party Leader
Olaf Scholz to Run for German Chancellor Again in 2025
TikTok Fined by UK Regulator for Child Safety Data Reporting Failures
Miracle Baby Born After Gaza Airstrike
Global Tech Outage Caused by Bug in CrowdStrike's Software
Ukrainian FM Open to Peace Talks with Russia, China Reports
EU to Transfer Interest from Frozen Russian Funds to Ukraine
Greenpeace Co-Founder Paul Watson Arrested in Greenland
EU Relocates Summit to Punish Hungary over Orban's Ukraine Visit
Netanyahu Seeks Meeting with Trump During Washington Visit
World's Hottest Day Recorded on July 21
UK Labour Government To Halt Migrant Housing on Accommodation Barge
President Biden Returns to White House After Testing COVID Negative
Trump Says Kamala Harris Would Be Easier Election Opponent Than Biden
Thousands Protest in Mallorca Against Mass Tourism
Immigration Crackdown Targets Car Washes and Beauty Sector
Nigeria's Controversial Return to Colonial-Era National Anthem
Hacking Vulnerabilities: Androids vs. iPhones
Ukraine Crisis Should Be EU's Responsibility, Says Trump’s Envoy
A Week of Turmoil: Key Moments in US Politics
Barrow's Sacred Heart Primary School Faces Long-Term Closure
German National Sentenced to Death in Belarus
Elon Musk's Companies Drop CrowdStrike After Global Windows 10 Outage
US Advises India on Russian Ties Amid Geopolitical Shifts
Trump Pledges to End Ukraine Conflict if Reelected
Global IT Outage Unveils Digital Vulnerabilities
Global IT Outage Sparks Questions About Financial Accountability
CrowdStrike Bug Affects 8.5 Million Windows Devices
Flights Resume After Major Microsoft Outage
US Criticizes International Court's Opinion on Israeli Occupation
CrowdStrike Update Causes Global IT Outage Due to Skipped Quality Checks
EU’s Patronizing Attitude Towards Africa Revealed
Netanyahu Denounces World Court Ruling on Israeli Occupation
Adidas Drops Bella Hadid Over Controversy
Global Outage Caused by CrowdStrike Update Impacts Millions
Massive Flight Cancellations Across the U.S. Due to Microsoft Outage
Global Windows Outage Causes Chaos Across Banks, Airlines, and More
Russia Accuses Ukraine of Using Chemical Weapons
UK's Flawed COVID-19 Planning Exposed by Inquiry
Ursula von der Leyen Wins Second Term as European Commission President
Police Officer Injured in Attack in Central Paris
Hulk Hogan absolutely tore it up at the RNC.
Paris is being "cleansed" of migrants and homeless people ahead of the Olympics.
Lamine Yamal arriving at his school after winning the Euros
Campaigners Urge UK Government to Block Shein's London IPO
UK Labour Government's Legislative Agenda
UK Labour Government to Regulate Powerful AI Models
Record Heat Temperatures in Ukraine Amid Power Crisis
UK Government Plans to Remove 92 Hereditary Peers from House of Lords
×