"Without Scottish and Welsh MPs at Westminster, New Labour could not rule..." (Alan)

The Westminster elections may be a long way away, but the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly elections were held on Thursday May 3, 2007. The SNP gained a majority of one following Labour's defeat, and Alex Salmond is the new First Minister for Scotland.

In Wales, Labour is no longer the majority party. Plaid Cymru, the largest opposition party, sought to oust Labour by negotiating a "rainbow" coalition including Conservatives and Lib Dems, but the Lib Dems showed they are not ready to rule by scuppering this shaky range of different parties with different policies. A coalition has now been hammered out between Plaid Cymru and Labour; Labour will still rule but with Plaid policies. Ieuan Wyn Jones is the deputy First Minister and the first Plaid member to be a Welsh government minister in the Plaid's 82-year history.

I hope this information helps.