Welsh first minister makes history at Yes Cymru rally, warns of "no turning back" on independence

Thousands of supporters packed the streets of Aberystwyth on Saturday for a Yes Cymru pro-independence march and rally, in a landmark moment for the movement when Wales' first minister joined the campaign on foot for the first time since taking office.

Rhun ap Iorwerth, who became first minister after Plaid Cymru entered government at the Senedd elections in May, told the crowd gathered in the west Wales town that Wales was "on a journey, and there's no turning back" towards becoming an independent nation.

Organisers, the campaign group Yes Cymru, estimated the march attracted between 8,000 and 9,000 people, a turnout that campaigners said reflected the growing appetite for constitutional change, with flags in the red and yellow colours of Yes Cymru branding mixed with the green, white and red of the Welsh national flag.

Speaking at a rally in Castle Gardens, with the ruins of Aberystwyth castle visible behind the stage, ap Iorwerth set out what he described as the next stage of Wales' constitutional journey. The "next step" for Wales, he said, had to be "equality with Scotland, as a minimum" — a formulation that places a benchmark well above the current settlement, in which Wales has limited devolved powers compared with Scotland's autonomy.

The first minister also sought to frame the independence goal as complementary to, rather than a substitute for, the delivery of everyday government priorities. "We are standing up for Wales, pursuing the investment and greater powers we need from Westminster now, so we can make a real difference to people's lives as the next step in our constitutional journey," he said, suggesting that the campaign for greater autonomy should not slow down efforts to improve services.

The speech came against a backdrop of a fresh refusal from the UK government. Referring to comments made the previous day by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, which ruled out handing powers to the Welsh government to hold a referendum on independence, ap Iorwerth said: "The right to self-determination is not a right that the UK government is willing to acknowledge."

That position was underlined in Cardiff this week, when the Senedd narrowly rejected a Reform Cymru motion declaring that Wales should remain part of the United Kingdom. The vote was initially tied, with 45 members backing the motion and 45 opposed, requiring Presiding Officer Huw Irranca-Davies to cast the deciding vote against the proposal in line with parliamentary convention.

Other speakers at the Aberystwyth rally included Yes Cymru chairman Rob Hughes and Elwyn Vaughan, the Plaid Cymru MS for Gwynedd Maldwyn, who has led calls for a referendum on a date — campaign banners at the event called for a 2032 vote.

The event was the first major independence march since Plaid Cymru entered government in Wales in May, and it marked a significant break with the party's previous position. Independence was notably absent from Plaid Cymru's platform for the current Senedd term, with party leaders having framed their immediate ambition as securing greater powers and investment rather than a referendum inside this parliament.

For Yes Cymru, the appearance of a serving first minister on its platform represented a validation of the campaign's progress. Since 2019, thousands have taken part in independence marches held in cities and towns across Wales, including Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhyl and Barry — but Saturday's event was the first attended by a Welsh first minister.

The response from opposition parties was immediate. Reform Cymru MS Joe Martin said the first minister's attendance was "disappointing to see, especially so early in the term, given that Plaid Cymru campaigned on a platform where independence wasn't on the table for the Senedd term". He told BBC Wales's Politics Wales: "It's not where their priorities and their attention should be." He added: "If there was a clear and overwhelming majority of people in Wales who wanted independence then obviously that would change things, but there isn't, there's a clear and overwhelming majority of people who don't want independence."

Welsh Conservative MS Andrew RT Davies took a similar line, arguing that the first minister would be better placed behind his desk in Cathays rather than marching in Aberystwyth. He pointed to rising waiting times and to Pisa results showing Wales had fallen further behind other parts of the United Kingdom, saying: "So instead of marching in Aberystwyth, [the first minister would] better off behind his desk in Cathays sorting the problems that he said he would sort out."

Welsh Labour declined to comment.

A Plaid Cymru spokesperson defended the first minister's decision to attend, saying the party was focused on current challenges while also being ambitious for Wales's future. "We are getting on with the priorities facing Wales right now - reducing NHS waiting times, improving literacy and numeracy, supporting jobs and businesses, and tackling the cost of living - while also standing up for Wales and being ambitious for our nation's future," the spokesperson said.

Saturday's rally will be watched closely by both supporters and critics of Welsh independence. For Yes Cymru, the attendance of a first minister speaking about a "constitutional journey" and equality with Scotland marks a step change in the movement's mainstream credibility. For opponents, the reaction from Reform and the Conservatives shows that the appearance is already being used to argue that the government's attention and resources are directed at campaigning rather than the problems facing Welsh households — a framing that will test whether the new administration can hold both agendas in tandem.