Gwynedd party coalition meeting

There have been protests against planned school closures

Members of a party who won 12 seats in the local elections on a platform of opposition to school closures in Gwynedd are meeting tonight.

Llais Gwynedd (Gwynedd Voice) will discuss coalition possibilities.

Alwyn Gruffydd, a new Llais Gwynedd councillor, said that they would insist that the education policy was ditched.

Plaid Cymru lost overall control of Gwynedd Council following last Thursday's poll although it said it remained "by far" the largest party.

Mr Gruffydd said that the make-up of the new administration was not a forgone conclusion and that "a lot of work needs to be done."

He said there could be a "situation where we could work the independents and the Liberal Democrats."

Plaid hold 35 seats, the independents have 18 seats, Liberal Democrats five and Labour four.

The biggest shock in the election was the defeat of Plaid Cymru president and party leader in Gwynedd, Dafydd Iwan.

Plaid Cymru's Richard Parry Hughes, outgoing Gwynedd council leader, also lost his seat.

Following the count, Mr Hughes said: "This is what the people of Gwynedd want. Democracy is a healthy thing.

He added the schools reorganisation document might have been the "catalyst" for the way the vote went, but added that he thought the situation had been misunderstood.

"It was put that this document was the finished article which would be put in place and acted upon.

"But that is not the case at all, this document was merely a consultation."

Plaid said the party faced "disappointment" by failing to win overall control of the council by three seats but remained the largest group "by far" on the authority.

Party leader Ieuan Wyn Jones admitted the result in Gwynedd was a "big disappointment" and there were lessons to be learned.

The plan to reorganise primary school education involves federalising 55 schools and closing 29, as the council looked to deal with falling pupil numbers.