This article was written by Steven Morris, for The Guardian on Friday 6th May 2011 17.08 UTC

Labour narrowly failed to secure an overall majority at the Welsh Assembly, opening up the possibility of an alliance with the Liberal Democrats.

The party won 30 of the 60 seats, four more than in 2007 but still one short of what it needed for an absolute majority, and its members will spend the weekend discussing how best to form a government.

Carwyn Jones, the Labour leader, said the people of Wales had sent out the message that they wanted the party to govern, but he was careful not to rule out the possibility of some sort of partnership.

“The one thing the people of Wales have said very clearly to us is they want Labour to stand up for them and they want Labour to lead the next Welsh government,” Jones said.

But he added: “Over the next few days all the parties will be considering their positions. The opposition parties have had some severe disappointments and things need to settle before they think about their position.”

Labour has, though, ruled out the possibility of working with the Tories and has spent the past four years governing in coalition with the nationalists, Plaid Cymru.

One intriguing option is that the Lib Dems, who have done so badly elsewhere, could play some sort of role in government at the assembly.

Kirsty Williams, the leader of the Welsh Lib Dems, accepted that Jones would be first minister.

Asked if she would work with Labour, she said: “The ball is in the Labour party’s court. We’ll have to wait and see. Our approach would be to create a stable government and to be able to use our influence to push forward the elements of our manifesto we have campaigned on. This is the time for all the political parties to get some sleep and a little bit of rest and reflect what the Welsh people have decided.”

The wipeout of Lib Dems in Wales that had been predicted by some did not happen. The party lost the prized seat of Cardiff Central and saw its vote fall significantly in urban areas where it has worked hard, such as Pontypridd (down by 10%) and Newport East and Swansea West (both down by 9%).

But despite trailing behind the BNP in Blaenau Gwent, the Lib Dems ended up with five seats – a net loss of just one.

The Conservatives lost their assembly leader, Nick Bourne, and one of his lieutenants, Jonathan Morgan – who was beaten by Julie Morgan, the wife of the former first minister Rhodri Morgan in Cardiff North.

But the Tories ended up with 14 seats, up two on four years ago.

The Welsh secretary, Cheryl Gillan, said it had been a good result for the Tories and a bad one for Labour. “If they can’t get an overall majority now, it’s not a good performance,” she said.

The biggest losers were Plaid Cymru, the junior partners of the coalition with Labour, with 11 seats, down from 15.

The party’s deputy leader, Helen Mary Jones, lost to Labour in Llanelli and concluded it had done badly because Labour had turned the election into a “referendum on what the Conservative government is doing in Westminster”. Plaid’s leader, Ieuan Wyn Jones, faced questions over his position even before counting had begun. He said Plaid would assess whether it had been damaged by being in power with Labour. But he added: “It was the right thing to do for Plaid and for Wales.”

The former Labour Welsh secretary Ron Davies, now a Plaid member, failed to win in Caerphilly and expressed frustration that the issues the election was fought on were UK-wide rather than Welsh.

Labour could still go it alone, and has previously governed with 30 seats, but many members may be reluctant to follow that challenging course again.

Senior Labour figures called for a period of calm. Carl Sargeant, minister for social justice and local government, said “long discussions” would take place over the weekend and a “collective decision” would be arrived at.

The Rhondda assembly member, Leighton Andrews, said he expected a “Labour-led” government with Labour first minister in charge next week.

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