Welsh first minister backs independence rally with 'no turning back' pledge

Thousands of people marched through Aberystwyth on Saturday in a mass show of support for Welsh independence, at which First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth declared that the country was "on a journey" from which there is "no turning back". The event marked an unprecedented moment in the campaign, with a sitting first minister addressing a Yes Cymru rally for the first time since Plaid Cymru entered government.

Campaign group Yes Cymru, which organised the demonstration, estimated that between 8,000 and 9,000 people took part in the march through the Ceredigion town. Organisers said those attending carried flags in the red and gold colours of the Yes Cymru brand alongside the national flag, while a banner pointed towards a goal of a referendum in 2032. The crowd assembled behind barriers in Castle Gardens, where speakers addressed them against a backdrop of castle ruins.

The rally programme included contributions from Yes Cymru chairman Rob Hughes, Plaid Cymru's Elwyn Vaughan, the member of the Senedd for Gwynedd Maldwyn, and ap Iorwerth himself, who was listed as the Plaid Cymru MS for Bangor Conwy Môn. The first minister told the crowd that the "next step" for Wales had to be "equality with Scotland, as a minimum" — a formulation notably short of a fixed timetable for independence but explicit in comparing the constitutional position of the two nations.

Analysts said the appearance underlined how far the independence question has moved from the margins of Welsh politics. Independence marches have drawn large crowds to cities and towns including Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhyl and Barry since 2019, but until Saturday no first minister had joined one. The change reflects the outcome of the Senedd elections in May, which saw Plaid Cymru move into government and deliver a first minister from a party that supports self-determination.

Ap Iorwerth framed his appearance not as a substitute for governing but as part of it. He said the Welsh Government was "standing up for Wales" while pursuing greater investment and devolved powers from Westminster, so that devolution could deliver "a real difference to people's lives" as a further stage of the constitutional journey. The emphasis on immediate deliverables suggests a strategy of building a visible record of delivery before campaigners demand a date for a referendum.

Part of his speech was aimed directly at London. The first minister referenced comments made the previous day by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who ruled out handing the Welsh Government the power to hold a referendum on independence. Ap Iorwerth said that the "right to self-determination" was "not a right that the UK government is willing to acknowledge", a rebuke to a government that has repeatedly declined to devolve a referendum mechanism.

His intervention came days after a significant vote inside the Senedd. This week, members narrowly rejected a Reform Cymru motion declaring that Wales should remain part of the United Kingdom. The division was initially tied, with 45 members backing the motion and 45 opposing it, before Presiding Officer Huw Irranca-Davies cast the deciding vote against the proposal in line with parliamentary convention. The narrow result means the assembly has not formally affirmed the union, but neither has it given independence advocates the declaration many had hoped for.

Opposition parties were quick to criticise the first minister's presence at the demonstration. Reform Cymru MS Joe Martin said it was "disappointing" to see the first minister at such an event "so early in the term", pointing to Plaid Cymru's campaign platform, which ruled out independence for the duration of this Senedd. He told BBC Wales's Politics Wales that "it's not where their priorities and their attention should be".

Martin also challenged the scale of public support for independence, arguing that if there were a clear and overwhelming majority in favour, things would change — but that in his view the opposite is true. "There's a clear and overwhelming majority of people who don't want independence," he said, a claim that will be tested whenever official or commissioned polling on the question is published.

The Welsh Conservatives were more pointed still. Andrew RT Davies said it would have been "better for him to be behind his desk in Cathays sorting the problems he said he would sort out". The Conservative MS pointed to rising waiting times and to newly published Pisa results showing Wales has fallen further behind other parts of the United Kingdom, using them to argue the government should focus on services rather than constitutional campaigning.

Plaid Cymru mounted a robust defence, saying the party was "getting on with the priorities facing Wales right now" — including cutting NHS waiting times, improving literacy and numeracy, backing jobs and businesses and tackling the cost of living — "while also standing up for Wales and being ambitious for our nation's future". The response maps closely onto the criticisms from both Reform and the Conservatives, tying the constitutional argument to a list of everyday government commitments. Welsh Labour declined to comment.

Whether the rally changes the arithmetic remains an open question. Saturday's event delivered a significant symbolic victory for Yes Cymru, in showing that a Plaid Cymru first minister is willing to march publicly for a cause his party has previously kept at arm's length during government. The "equality with Scotland" formulation, and the Yes Cymru banner's 2032 target, point to an intended sequence: more devolved powers now, full parity later, and a referendum at some point beyond this parliament.

Sceptics on both sides — unionists worried about an accelerating timetable, and some supporters impatient with a phased approach — will now be watching for evidence that the first minister's rhetoric at Castle Gardens is matched by delivery. For now, the message from Aberystwyth was one of momentum rather than resolution: a crowd of several thousand, a pledge of no retreat, and a warning to Westminster that the demand for self-determination has not faded.