“I’m not interested in setting out, ‘these are the views of David Trystan’ or ‘these are the views of the Welsh Government’,” he says.
Dr Dafydd Trystan Davies has been an irrepressible part of public life in Wales for three decades. A former chief executive of Plaid Cymru, a former chair of the party, a candidate in a multitude of elections, the former university lecturer has advised, chaired, campaigned and worked to advance the causes he believes in – not least his party.
If you run or cycle in, or around, Cardiff, you’ll have seen him. He’s a devoted parkrun attendee, also spotted on the ultra trails, a guide runner for those with visual impairment, and has been a chair of governors at a Cardiff primary school.
In 2026, after three parliamentary and three Senedd attempts, he could finally add elected representative to his CV when he was named Senedd member for Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf.
As results elsewhere in Wales were still being counted, he was carrying his bike up the stairs at the front of the Senedd, the first to take his oath so he begin work as a Senedd member.
Days later, he found himself visiting Cathays Park to be told by the First Minister he would like him to take a cabinet role.
Aberdare born, there are few in the political world who do not know him, or praise his collegiate nature.
He admits there was something of a novelty standing in an election he could win, for the first time.
“I was chuckling with a good friend of mine in the Labour Party a week before the election saying, ‘Oh, I know what it must felt felt like to be you for most of your life now’ because the response was very good.
“There was a level of warmth that I’ve never experienced before.,” he says.
Behind the scenes, in the build-up to the election that even months ago, when it was clear Plaid Cymru would do well, he was one of those tasked with working out their plan of action.
Then Rhun ap Iorwerth made him minister for “government effectiveness and the constitution”.
A less simple title to get your head around, what does that actually mean?
“It’s about getting things done,” he says. “There are two things. One is trying to make some constitutional progress. It is relatively clear at one level that’s what I need to do, but it’s super complex to do that, because that involves a set of negotiations with the UK Government and building the case for further constitutional reform and then the other bit, simply, is getting things done.”
In terms of that, the party – even before they published a manifesto – put out a document with a list of things they were going to do in their first 100 days.
He has ministerial overview of that.
“Every week we sit down and look at the list, see how we’re doing, seeing where, and as with everything in government, there are things that are making really good progress, and there are things that need a little more attention and it’s then focusing my time on those things that need a little more attention, and working through them.”
Having had various roles in various parts of the machine, what has surprised him. “I think the relentlessness of the overall scale of the work,” he says
“Seeing it right from the centre, there’s an awful lot of it. You’ve got to remember to breathe, take a step back, and that’s part of the role, too sort of saying, ‘actually, are these the right things? Are they going to have an impact on people’s lives?
“So I think I think having enough experience to say, ‘Actually, we just need to breathe, we need to pause, we need to work this out, we need to plan properly, we don’t need to we don’t need to rush at everything to do’.
“There’s been a tendency in the past, I think, with Welsh Government to chase headlines, to produce plans, but not then to follow them through,” he said.
“So if there’s one thing I’d love to be able to say is ‘what we said we were going to do, we did, and we followed it through properly’.”
He adds: “When you are hoping to win an election, you’ve got to both win the election, and then plan as to what you’re going to do on the first day if you are fortunate enough to win it.
“I’m still at a loss to understand why the Labour Party didn’t do that in 2024 and I was clear, and Prif Weinidog and others have been absolutely clear, we had to hit the ground running, and have plans in place, and have a set of coherent plans in place.
“The Labour government in the UK has done, individually, some decent things but you’ve never had a sense that there was a coherent message and hopefully what you’ve had from the Prif Weinidog and the cabinet is a sense, “Okay, the Welsh government wants to do things, we have a set of priorities, and we’re going to work hard to deliver on those priorities.”
That day circulated as 100 days in his diary is August 26, but such a clear statement of intent, and putting a day on it, increases the scrutiny and expectation.
“I think there’s an understanding that setting out ambitious targets, gives a challenge to us all, as cabinet ministers, as as the system, as Welsh Government.
“I also think that the population at large isn’t given enough credit at times. I am an optimist about these things. I think if you explain to people what you’ve done and how you’re doing things….”
But, I put it to him, Plaid Cymru as an opposition party was unrelenting in its criticism of Labour missing targets, look at any debate of waiting times. Is he ready for the equivalent if Plaid’s expansive list doesn’t have a tickbox next to each item.
“With such a list, there is a challenge. I think in truth, though, the challenge is a slightly longer-term one, because a lot of what the 100 days plan is about setting ambitious goals to put the the foundation blocks in place.
“Getting the right foundations in place is something I remain confident that we can do across the whole range of areas, but hopefully we can do that.
“Let’s see on August the 26th,” he says.
“But the second bit then is that the longer-term challenge is by 2030, we will have to have delivered on waiting times, on child poverty, on childcare, on on the economy, on schools.”
He now sits on that front row of the government benches in the parliament. He’s already found himself front and centre as the person tasked with making closing comments on behalf of the government in a debate on international spending which saw a cross-party walkout, such was the anger at Joe Martin of Reform UK.
So what is it like being there, and in such a fractious Senedd.
“I’ve tried on numerous occasions to be elected to the Senedd. I think is an enormous privilege to be elected, and every day I’m clear that that is a privilege and if you don’t enjoy that privilege,…you should enjoy it, because you’ve worked towards it and you’re there now.
“But how do I how do I respond to a rather fractious Senedd? What I hope I’ll I’ll do, and it’s I don’t think I can do anything else, is wherever possible be consensual, be cooperative, be collaborative, be thoughtful, be open.”
Has the early tone in the chamber surprised him? “It has a little. I mean, I’m fairly old-fashioned, I think people should should start their arguments from facts.
“That may be that may be from a different century but I think if you start your arguments from facts, and then argue about what the political solutions are, you’ve got a level of respect to the Senedd and to the debate. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
“I think of some some of those that have gone before me, I had plenty of arguments in my time with people like Lee Waters and David Melding but you could never you could never suggest that either of them didn’t base what they were putting forward on facts.
“We need to get a bit of that back, there’s a challenge when people don’t”.
“But hopefully, if we and I can continue to do things from that middle ground, from that common sense, then that will be a good thing”.
Since getting the role, he vowed to make, wherever possible, constituency journeys on public transport. Now, as a minister, he has the option to use a ministerial car and will have diary commitments across the country.
That has opened him up to criticism online. but he has been buoyed by those interjecting to confirm he has indeed been seen on two wheels – or two feet – since the election.
When he flew to Belfast for a ministerial engagement he put out a tongue-in-cheek statement including a picture someone had generated of him in a canoe.
“I’m flattered that people thought I might have taken to a canoe to get to Belfast to meet the First Minister of Northern Ireland, it was my first flight in my ministerial role,” he said. “Thanks to whoever made this picture though – it made me smile,” he said.
While the promise was made about his constituency role, he plans to follow through as much as possible as a minister.
“Clearly, it’s one thing to travel on a bus to St Mellons as I’ll be doing next week for our surgery. It’s a different thing to travel on a ministerial engagement to give a speech in Lampeter, for example…I mean, once our new coach is in place, it may be it may be better but until that point, um, our public transport needs a bit of a bit of attention across the country. “
As was repeated a number of times in the campaign, Plaid Cymru will not put a referendum on Wales’ position in the UK to the public in this term, it has committed to a commission to look at options. He’s told the Senedd that means it will “engage with the public in a national conversation about Wales’s constitutional future, and strengthen the evidence base for further reform”.
When asked if there was a timeframe for when that commission would be set up and report back, he said “shortly”.
As that 100 days ticks down – we meet just before that halfway point – I ask what has been done.
“On the constitution, there are there are two elements. The first element is around discussions with the UK Government and others around Wales’s constitutional journey, around justice powers, around policing, further devolution, around rail, around fair funding, around fiscal framework.
“Those discussions have begun with with the with the UK Government, whomsoever they are today,” he says.
“We’ve had some interesting, positive initial conversations about some of the more mechanical things,” he says. “I’ve represented Wales on the counter-terrorism ministerial board, and we’ve been discussing some really challenging security issues and how devolved governments alongside the UK Government and other partners could work together.
“I think those conversations are progressing,” he said.
“I think on the broader issues, clarity on devolution of policing say, I think will have to wait until we know who the next Prime Minister of the UK is.”
That man is expected to be Andy Burnham, and there has been some whispers his time in Manchester as a devolved mayor could benefit Wales.
“I think given his given his background, there is a chance of positive engagement. We’ll start, as the as Prif Weinidog did with the with the current Prime Minister of the UK, in a constructive and cooperative manner.
“There’s lots to be done, there’s lots of issues to be addressed, so I hope the new Prime Minister of the UK will be ready, able, and willing to address those issues.
“For there to be progress on constitutional matters, the more consensual and cooperative those discussions are, the better. So I’m not interested in setting out, “These are the views of David Trystan,” or, “These are the views of the Welsh Government,” even.
“I think engaging the Welsh public, the Welsh electorate, the Welsh population more broadly, and reaching my ideal position which is, to quote John Smith’s beautiful phrase, “The settled will of the Welsh people on a number of issues.”
“I think that’s reached on Crown Estate. I think we’re there on a number of next steps of devolution, that’s where I’d like to get to.”
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