Dwyfor Meirionnydd AM Dafydd Elis-Thomas has revealed that he will not stand in the 2021 elections.

Lord Elis-Thomas has been a member of the assembly since its formation in 1999 and was presiding officer at Y Senedd from 1999 to 2011.

Before then, Lord Elis-Thomas had served as an MP for the Meirionnydd Nant Conwy constituency between 1974 and 1992, when he was made a life peer in the House of Lords.

A long-standing member of Plaid Cymru, Lord Elis-Thomas left the party in 2016 and was made deputy minister for tourism, sport and culture as an independent AM.

Lord Elis-Thomas told BBC Radio Cymru’s Dewi Llwyd programme this week that he had had time to think and had realised during this period that there were other ways to serve society.

He said: "I have seen the value during this period of working in a different way. There’s more to being a good citizen than being an elected politician for more than 40 years.

"And since I have reached that period of representing Meirionnydd at least for 40 years, it wouldn’t make sense for me to stand in an election knowing that I would be 78 by the end of the next assembly term."

First Minister Mark Drakeford said it was an honour to have Lord Elis-Thomas in his Cabinet.

Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP Liz Saville Roberts has tweeted her thanks to Lord Elis-Thomas for his service in representing the communities of Dwyfor, Meirionnydd and Nant Conwy as an MP and AM.

The leader of Plaid Cymru, Adam Price, also paid tribute to Lord Elis-Thomas, who is a former leader of the party, describing him as “one of the most prominent and versatile parliamentarians in Welsh politics” who had made a lifelong contribution to public life.