Final Senedd meeting is end of an era before big changes

"It's like bringing a plane in to land after a long journey," Elin Jones, the Senedd's Llywydd or Presiding Officer, told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast this morning. "But I think we should be prepared for a dramatic take-off." The Welsh Parliament, with Jones in the pilot seat, meets for the final time on Wednesday before the Senedd election on 7 May. It marks the end of an era, as the new Senedd will not only be bigger, it will be elected under a different system and there could be a new party in charge after 27 years. A pattern is now emerging in opinion polls, with once dominant Labour battling it out for third with the Greens, as Plaid Cymru and Reform vie for top spot. ITV's latest poll, out on Tuesday night, suggested again that this could happen. Labour's potential woes are well-documented. Its opponents question its record after 27 years in power - especially on NHS waiting lists, standards in schools, the 20 mph law and spending priorities such as the Nation of Sanctuary Scheme. Reform wants to make this election a referendum on Sir Keir Starmer, aware of how unpopular the Labour prime minister is in the polls. Nigel Farage's party is promising to cut income tax, as are the We