This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/wales/6758863.stm

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Plaid considers coalition deals Plaid will continue Labour talks
(about 1 hour later)
Plaid Cymru's ruling body is meeting in Aberystwyth to consider Labour's offer of power-sharing at the assembly. Plaid Cymru will continue negotiating with Labour over forming a coalition government in the Welsh assembly, the party's ruling body has said.
The decision was taken unanimously by the party's National Executive Committee at a meeting in Aberystwyth.
First Minister Rhodri Morgan has offered a deal to Plaid to support his minority assembly government.First Minister Rhodri Morgan has offered a deal to Plaid to support his minority assembly government.
Plaid's National Executive Committee is also studying an option to work with the Tories and Lib Dems. Plaid could still opt for a rainbow coalition with the Tories and Lib Dems, but this was not discussed on Saturday.
Both Labour and Plaid are set to hold special conferences in July in which the wider party memberships would have their say on any coalition deals. A Plaid spokesman said a rainbow deal was not considered by the executive committee, as no request was made to do so by the party's group of AMs, which had met earlier in the day.
Speaking outside the meeting room, Plaid AM Dai Lloyd said he thought the party would keep its options open ahead of its conference on 7 July. Plaid leader Ieuan Wyn Jones, when asked if the rainbow coalition was dead, said that it was not.
"The clear direction, I expect, is that both options will be on the table for our national council in three weeks' time for our grassroots membership to decide which is the way forward," he said.
Earlier, Plaid chair John Dixon had said it was the first opportunity for the party's National Executive to look at all the options since the election.
HOW THE ASSEMBLY STANDS Labour - 26 seatsPlaid Cymru - 15Conservatives - 12Liberal Democrats - 6Independent - 1HOW THE ASSEMBLY STANDS Labour - 26 seatsPlaid Cymru - 15Conservatives - 12Liberal Democrats - 6Independent - 1
Plaid will now concentrate on discussions with Labour, and Mr Jones predicted that the discussions will now take days and not weeks.
Reacting to the news, a spokesperson for the Lib Dem assembly leader Mike German said Plaid cannot "keep two balls in the air indefinitely".
"I hope the party will move swiftly to make a firm recommendation as rapidly as possible. The people of Wales want certainty."
And Welsh Tory leader Nick Bourne said he believed the rainbow alliance was still a possibility.
"I remain confident that we can secure the necessary support across all three opposition parties for a non-Labour coalition government in Cardiff Bay," he said.
Both Labour and Plaid are set to hold special conferences in July in which the wider party memberships would have their say on any coalition deals.
Earlier, Plaid chair John Dixon had said Saturday's meeting was the first opportunity for the party's National Executive to look at all the options since the election.
"To date, the only decision that Plaid Cymru has taken since the election has been to talk to everybody and see what might be possible," he said."To date, the only decision that Plaid Cymru has taken since the election has been to talk to everybody and see what might be possible," he said.
"There has to come a point... at which you start looking at these options and start saying 'Well, which actually represents the best way forward for Wales?'""There has to come a point... at which you start looking at these options and start saying 'Well, which actually represents the best way forward for Wales?'"
Labour
On Friday, Welsh Labour's party national executive decided to hold a special conference on 6 July.On Friday, Welsh Labour's party national executive decided to hold a special conference on 6 July.
Labour party's chairman, Tecwyn Thomas, said it was "momentous point" for Labour and politics in Wales. Labour party's chairman, Tecwyn Thomas, said the executive thought it was "right and proper that the wider party be consulted in the fairest and most open way possible".
"The executive feels it is right and proper that the wider party be consulted in the fairest and most open way possible," he added.
Rainbow
The latest round of discussions came after Labour fell five seats short of an outright majority in last month's election.The latest round of discussions came after Labour fell five seats short of an outright majority in last month's election.
Although Mr Morgan was reinstalled in the top job, he could be forced out if Plaid team up with the Conservatives and the Lib Dems to form a "rainbow alliance". Although Mr Morgan was reinstalled in the top job, he could be forced out if Plaid team up with the Conservatives and the Lib Dems.
Mr Morgan, who said he was "between a rock and a hard place", turned to Plaid after the Lib Dems pulled out of talks with Labour.
The trade unions will have a big say in Labour's final decision, and senior union figures have predicted they will back the Plaid deal.