Content area
Full Text
| CAPITAL: | Cardiff |
| AREA: | 20,755 sq km |
| POPULATION: | 3,105,410 (2021 mid-year est., ONS) |
| OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: | Welsh & English |
| HEAD OF STATE: | King Charles III (since Sept 2022) |
| RULING PARTY: | Labour |
| HEAD OF GOVERNMENT: | First Minister Mark Drakeford (Labour) (since Dec 2018) |
The year 2023 began with a succession of crises for leaders in Welsh public life. In January, the BBC aired a documentary examining allegations of sexism and sexual misconduct within the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), prompting an external review of the organisation as well as major institutional reforms. At the end of January, Steve Phillips resigned as WRU chief executive. In March more than 97 per cent of delegates at an emergency general meeting voted in favour of proposals to modernise the WRU's governance, including through the appointment of an independent non-executive director as chair.
A similar crisis would also afflict Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party. Following a series of allegations about bullying and sexual misconduct within Plaid Cymru, a working group had been established in December 2022 to examine the party's internal culture. The working group's report was published in May. Its emphasis on leadership failings within the party resulted immediately in Adam Price, Plaid's leader, facing questions about his future. While Price initially sought to rebuff these questions, suggesting that resignation would be an abdication of responsibility, little...