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The Morning Star 2026 Conference
‘I know the Wales that we want – where we look after each other’
David Nicholson speaks to new Plaid Cymru leader RHUN AP IORWERTH about his attitude to socialism, the unions, social partnership and, of course, Welsh independence
Plaid Cymru's new leader Rhun ap Iorwerth [Plaid Cymru/Creative Commons]

MORNING STAR readers in Wales will know that Rhun ap Iorwerth used to be that tough interviewer on the BBC’s Good Morning Wales radio news before the Senedd member for Anglesey became leader of Plaid Cymru in July.

But how much do we know about ap Iorwerth’s background — what drove him into politics and where does his passionate belief in independence come from?

“I was the son of two teachers born in Tonteg in the south Wales valleys. My dad had come down to the Cynon Valley as part of the wave of young teachers who wanted to expand the teaching of Welsh.”

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