WHAT THOMAS’ RESIGNATION MEANS FOR PLAID

THE arrest and resignation of Simon Thomas is a blow to Plaid Cymru, but also to the National Assembly as an institution and to Welsh politics as a whole,

For officials at the Senedd, the events came entirely out of the blue: they were unaware of any investigation being under way until his resignation letter arrived.

On Tuesday evening Plaid AMs received personal phone calls from party leader Leanne Wood telling them there would be an important announcement regarding Simon Thomas in the morning. Similar calls were made by Plaid’s parliamentary leader, Liz Saville Roberts, to the party’s MPs.

For Plaid, the incident comes at a particularly tough time. The party is in the middle of what is turning out to be a hard-fought leadership campaign, with the debate inevitably focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of Ms Wood.

The expulsion of South Wales Central AM Neil McEvoy from the party has added to the turmoil, as has a mass exodus from Plaid of a number of party members in Llanelli who were unhappy about the imposition of a General Election candidate last year.

Simon Thomas was one of the party’s leading strategists, having been a senior adviser to Plaid ministers during the Labour-Plaid One Wales coalition government between 2007 and 2011, when he brought his previous experience as an MP into play.

He was also a key figure in negotiations between Plaid and Labour after the inconclusive Assembly election in 2016, helping to put together the agreement between the two parties that led to a two-year Budget deal.

As chairman of the Finance Committee, he had credibility as well as cross-party respect. AMs listened to him, and his ability to scrutinise ministers was formidable.

Described by one of his now former colleagues as “a brilliant politician”, many felt a sense of loss tempered by the understanding the police investigation must run its course.