The Welsh assembly has confirmed Rhodri Morgan as first minister with a narrow working majority.

While winning exactly half of the seats in the 60 member assembly in this month's elections, Labour has also now achieved a working majority of 30 to 28.

Morgan was boosted by a decision to appoint a Plaid Cymru assembly member and an independent AM as the Presiding Officer and his deputy.

Plaid Cymru's Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas resumed the role of Presiding Officer after being unopposed for the post.

But in a closely contested vote, independent member John Marek was chosen as his deputy, over Labour's Peter Law, by the narrow margin of 30 to 29.

Opposition parties had called for a Labour AM to take the post in order to preserve the balance of the assembly.

By the convention established in the last term, neither of the two post holders vote on matters before the assembly.

Morgan has declined to invite the Welsh Liberal Democrats back into the devolved administration, preferring to govern alone with a narrow majority.

He will be delighted that the latest procedural twists have boosted his party's position in the assembly.

Following the decision on the presiding officers, Morgan was chosen unopposed to continue his work as first minister.