Badenoch Refuses to Rule Out Backing Plaid Cymru Budget

Kemi Badenoch has refused to rule out Welsh Conservative MSs helping Plaid Cymru's minority government pass its next supplementary budget — opening the door to a potentially crucial cross-party vote in the Senedd.

The Conservative leader said her party would consider Plaid Cymru proposals case by case, while insisting she was "not interested in doing deals" with the Welsh Government.

The comments come after Plaid Cymru's first supplementary budget was defeated in the Senedd in July, exposing the government's lack of a majority.

Now the next budget could become an immediate test of whether Plaid Cymru can secure enough opposition support to govern effectively.

There is no suggestion of a Conservative-Plaid Cymru coalition.

But Badenoch's refusal to rule out supporting individual measures means the Welsh Conservatives could hold an important position when the government returns to the Senedd with further spending proposals.

For Plaid Cymru, the issue is simple: it is in government, but it does not have the numbers to guarantee its budget will pass.

That makes the next round of negotiations—and the votes that follow—potentially critical to the new Welsh Government's ability to deliver its spending plans.

The first warning came in July

The political problem emerged quickly after the 2026 Senedd election, which brought Plaid Cymru into government for the first time.

On 23 June, Finance Minister Elin Jones presented the First Supplementary Budget of the new Senedd term and the first ever supplementary budget of a Plaid Cymru Welsh Government.

Just three weeks later, on 14 July, Senedd Members voted it down.

The defeat did not bring down the government. The previously approved 2026-27 Final Budget remained in force.

But it demonstrated that Plaid Cymru will need to negotiate beyond its own benches if it wants future changes to its spending plans approved.