Welsh Labour Party To Outline Plans For New Assembly

Welsh Labour leader Carwyn Jones is to outline the likely shape of a new assembly government.

Labour has had informal talks with other parties since winning half of the 60 seats in last week's election and say the new assembly will be stable and in place soon.

The party increased its tally of seats at last week's election, but fell one short of the outright majority it wanted.

In a statement, a Labour spokesman said voters had made it clear they wanted a "Labour-led government and they wanted Carwyn Jones to be the next first minister."

It is clear they will seek to form a government alone without any overall majority, but the discussions with other parties indicate they are also exploring whether any other options are open to them.

The first plenary session of the new assembly is expected to be held later in the week.

If Labour decides not to run an administration on its own, it could share power with another party - as it did with Plaid after the 2007 election - or work out a less formal arrangement.

Discussions with other parties could involve talks about the roles of the presiding officer and deputy presiding officer, which would affect the balance of power in the Senedd.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats said they had not taken part in any discussions with Labour since the election, while Plaid Cymru said informal discussion had taken place.

(JG/KMcA)