Ken Owens considers standing for Labour in Senedd elections

Former Wales rugby captain Ken Owens is considering standing for Labour at next year’s Senedd election, BBC Wales has been told.

The 38-year-old is weighing up whether to run in the new Sir Gaerfyrddin constituency.

Labour does not have a lead candidate there after the Llanelli Member of the Senedd (MS) Lee Waters and Mid and West Wales MS Joyce Watson announced their intention to stand down ahead of the election.

Carmarthen-born Owens has been a public supporter of Labour, having appeared at a rally in Carmarthenshire with Keir Starmer and First Minister Eluned Morgan on the eve of last year’s general election.

The 38-year-old won 91 caps for Wales and played five tests for the British and Irish Lions.

Aside from his on-field achievements Owens also became heavily involved in the political side of Welsh rugby, a subject never far from the headlines.

He played what was described as a “pivotal” role in averting a players’ strike when he was Wales captain in 2023 during a contract dispute between the squad and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).

Without his actions and influence behind the scenes, it was reported that the Six Nations match against England could have been called off.

At the time he admitted that Wales was the “laughing stock” of world rugby.

Owens made his Wales debut in 2011 at the foot of Mount Taranaki in New Zealand during an 81-7 World Cup win over Namibia.

Welsh Labour has a potential mountain to climb at the next Senedd election in May 2026.

According to recent polling the party is under real pressure from Reform and Plaid Cymru, with the three neck and neck.

Labour has been the biggest party at every Senedd election since the start of devolution in 1999, and there has always been a Labour first minister.

But their position now faces a real challenge.

Under the new voting system for the 2026 election, Wales has been split into 16 new constituencies, pairing the 32 used at the 2024 General Election.

Sir Gaerfyrddin is formed from the Llanelli and Caerfyrddin constituencies, and covers the county of Carmarthenshire.

Each constituency will return six MSs to an expanded 96-member Senedd.

Parties will rank up to eight candidates each per constituency, with voters having one vote for the party of their choice.

Labour would hope for one or possibly two of the six seats available in Sir Gaerfyrddin, meaning any candidate would need to be first or second on their list to have a realistic hope of becoming an MS.

Along with team-mate Jonathan Davies, Owens was honoured by the Gorsedd of the Bards at the National Eisteddfod in 2019 for enriching Welsh culture.

Should he want any advice on the conversion from rugby to politics he need only look over the Loughor estuary.

The Labour MP for Gower, Tonia Antoniazzi, is also a former Wales rugby international.