A week after Plaid faced dispointment in the General Election comes some cheer for the pary as they ousted Labour to take control of Carmarthenshire Council.
This is the first time Plaid, which is the largest party in the county with 29 of the 72 seats, has had control of Carmarthenshire.
After a day of horse trading iit was officially announced this evening that Plaid had formally entered a coalition with the independents who had previously worked with Labour.
The independents had refused to work with new Labour leader Jeff Edmunds who had taken over from Kevin Madge, who was dumped by his party in a secret vote on Monday.
This is the first time Plaid, which is the largest party in the county with 29 of the 72 seats, has had control of Carmarthenshire.
Plaid leader Emlyn Dole then convened a meeting of the Plaid group and after lengthy discussions a coalition deal was signed with Mr Dole becoming council leader.
Plaid councillor Alun Lenny said tonight:
"We have our own manifesto and we have our own priorities."Obviously we have inherited a most difficult position but we are determined to improve the image of the council and make it more open and transparent."
He said there were tough times ahead with the austerity measures from the UK Conservative Government imposed on the Welsh Government and carried out by Labour at Cardiff Bay.
Much of the success of Plaid new stewardship will depend on the roll of the Independent leader s Pam Palmer and Meryl Gravelll.
If Plaid can limit thiey,r role then they can make the necessary changes to the council to remove the stain that the previous administration had acquired .
It will be interesting to see how Labour who are probably divided can fit into the role of opposition without more blood letting as the reality of their loss its home.
It has also emerged that Three Llais Gwynedd councillors have crossed the council chamber and joined Plaid Cymru’s Gwynedd group.
They include one of Llais Gwynedd’s founders, Seimon Glyn, and Gruffydd Williams, the son of Owain Williams, the party’s current leader on Gwynedd Council.
The third member to join the group is Mr Glyn’s daughter, Gwenno.
Mr Glyn said the three had left Llais Gwynedd on “good terms” but that their journey with the group had “come to an end”.
He added the direction being taken by Plaid Cymru under Leanne Wood’s direction had also played a part in their decision.
It is encouraging that Leanne as a Non-Welsh speaker (but learning fast) has resonated with member and non-members of Y Fro
Plaid Cymru now have 38 members on the 75-seat authority while the number of Llais Gwynedd members falls to 10. There are 18 Independents, five Labour councillors, two Liberal Democrat councillors and two individual members. so now have a slim majotiry and can if they wish run the council on their own
Whether in time Plaid may regret one or both these moves or it leads to aresurgance in these areas time will tell but I imagine the Party is tather pleased at the moment.
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