Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has been elected Wales’ new First Minister, becoming the first politician from outside Labour to hold the role.

The Ynys Môn MS was confirmed following a roll-call vote in the Senedd this afternoon, securing 44 votes. Reform UK’s Dan Thomas received 34 votes, while Conservative leader Darren Millar received seven. Welsh Labour MSs and Liberal Democrat MS Jane Dodds abstained.

After being confirmed as First Minister, Mr ap Iorwerth received a standing ovation from Plaid Cymru MSs and supporters in the public gallery.

“It is the greatest privilege of my life to be elected first minister in a nation that means so much to me,” he told the Senedd.

“I’m eager to repay the trust that the people in Wales have placed in us and to achieve the change that people have stated so clearly they wish to see.”

In a speech that mixed optimism with calls for unity, the new First Minister said: “Something has stirred in the soul of Wales.

“A new confidence, a new hope. A new broader horizon, never to be narrowed again.”

He added that his government would “serve everyone in every community, urban and rural, old and young, whether they speak Welsh or do not”.

“My promise to everyone is that I will lead without prejudice or presumption. I will never take this privilege for granted,” he said.

During a session which felt largely like a formality, the day did see a heated moment in the Senedd chamber following the election of Labour MS Huw Irranca-Davies as Llywydd, or Presiding Officer.

Conservative leader Darren Millar accused Plaid Cymru and Labour of “stitching-up” the role, saying it was evidence the “Labour Plaid axis” was set to continue “under a different guise”.

“Frankly, it stinks,” he said, before saying Welsh Labour had been “vomited from government”.

Mr Irranca-Davies responded by promising fairness and impartiality in the role.

Meanwhile, Reform UK’s Dan Thomas said his party would act as a “robust opposition” and claimed there was now a “pro-union majority” in the Senedd.

He said the group will be voice for the "left-behind communities that have voted for us".

Interim Welsh Labour leader Ken Skates admitted he was “deeply saddened” by Labour’s losses, but insisted his party would provide a strong opposition.

“We may only be a group of nine now, but above all we are a fellowship,” he joked, in a Lord of the Rings reference that drew laughter from the chamber.