First minister spent election night win at Premier Inn after forgetting his keys

"Rhun ap Iorwerth was on his way from an election count in north Wales to Cardiff last Friday when he realised he'd left the keys at his main home in Anglesey, some 200 miles (321km) from the Welsh capital. Fresh from declaring a "new dawn" beckoned for Wales but unable to get into his Cardiff flat late at night, ap Iorwerth then spent the evening in the budget hotel chain's modest surroundings. A request for his father to bring the keys down, however, meant they ended up celebrating together outside the Senedd the next morning."

"On Tuesday, when ap Iorwerth was elected to lead Welsh government, his father told ITV that he felt "extremely proud and very glad to be alive" to see his son become first minister. "I can't hide the fact that I'm elated, but at the same time finding it very difficult to realise what's happening around [me]," he said. "It's a sort of cloud that we've been in since Friday.""

"No overnight counting of votes meant it wasn't until Friday evening that the result, which saw Plaid become Wales' largest party, was confirmed. But, like many Senedd politicians, he also has a property in Cardiff for the days he is working at the parliament, and now at the Welsh government's headquarters in the city. While the UK prime minister has Downing Street, and the first minister of Scotland has Bute House in Edinburgh, there is no official residence for the first minister of Wales."

Rhun ap Iorwerth, newly elected first minister of Wales, realised he had left his flat keys at his home in Anglesey while travelling from an election count in north Wales to Cardiff. With no official residence for the first minister, he could not access his Cardiff flat late at night and spent the evening in a Premier Inn. His father brought the keys, allowing them to celebrate together outside the Senedd the next morning. The election result was confirmed on Friday evening after vote counting, and ap Iorwerth later spoke about feeling elated yet still processing the change. Plaid Cymru became Wales’ largest party in the historic election victory.

Read at www.bbc.com