Proposed boundary changes
The Boundary Commission for Wales submitted their final proposals in respect of the Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster Constituencies (the 2018 review) in September 2018. Although the proposals were immediately laid before Parliament they were not brought forward by the Government for approval. Accordingly, they didnot come into effect for the 2019 election which took place on 12 December 2019, and which was contested using the constituency boundaries in place since 2010.
Under the terms of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011, the Sixth Review was based on reducing the total number of MPs from 650 to 600 and a strict electoral parity requirement that the electorate of all constituencies should be within a range of 5% either side of the electoral quota.
On 24 March 2020, the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office, Chloe Smith, issued a written statement to Parliament setting out the Government's thinking with regard to parliamentary boundaries. They propose to bring forward primary legislation to remove the statutory obligation to implement the 2018 Boundary Review recommendations, as well as set the framework for future boundary reviews in time for the next review which is due to begin in early 2021 and report no later than October 2023. It is proposed that the number of constituencies now remains at the current level of 650, rather than being reduced to 600, while retaining the requirement that the electorate should be no more than +/- 5% from the electoral quota. [2]
The boundary commissions in the United Kingdom are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of constituencies for elections to the House of Commons. There are four boundary commissions:
As a result of the Fifth Periodical Review of the Boundary Commission for Scotland, Scotland is covered by 59 constituencies of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Parliament - 19 Burgh constituencies and 40 County constituencies. Constituencies marked * appear on the Central Area Enlargement.
Arfon is a constituency in Wales represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament at Westminster. Although it is relatively large by geographical area, the constituency is a predominantly urban rather than rural seat, with the majority of the population living in the two towns of Bethesda and Caernarfon, as well as in the city of Bangor, on which the constituency is based. "Arfon" is a historical name for the area, meaning "facing Anglesey"; it is also the name of the former district council. This seat was created by the Welsh Boundary Commission in time for the 2010 general election; it replaced the old seat of Caernarfon. Bangor was in the old seat of Conwy. The same boundaries were used for the Arfon Welsh Assembly constituency in the 2007 Welsh Assembly election.
The Senedd constituencies and electoral regions are the electoral districts used to elect Members of the Senedd to the Senedd, and have been used in some form since the first election of the then National Assembly for Wales in 1999. New boundaries were introduced for the 2007 elections and currently consist of forty constituencies and five regions. The five electoral regions are: Mid and West Wales, North Wales, South Wales Central, South Wales East, and South Wales West, with the forty constituencies listed below. Voting last took place in all districts in the 2021 Senedd election, and are not used for local government.
North Wales is an electoral region of the Senedd, consisting of nine constituencies. The region elects thirteen members, nine directly elected constituency members and four additional members. The electoral region was first used in the 1999 Welsh Assembly election, when the National Assembly for Wales was created.
Mid and West Wales is an electoral region of the Senedd, consisting of eight constituencies. The region elects twelve members, eight directly elected constituency members and four additional members. The electoral region was first used in the 1999 Welsh Assembly election, when the National Assembly for Wales was created.
South Wales East is an electoral region of the Senedd, consisting of eight constituencies. The region elects 12 members, eight directly elected constituency members and four additional members. The electoral region was first used in 1999, when the National Assembly for Wales was created.
There are four types of elections in Wales: elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elections to the devolved Senedd, local elections to the 22 principal areas, and the Police and Crime Commissioner elections, in addition to by-elections for each aforementioned election. Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday. Since the passing of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 for UK general elections, all four types of elections are held after fixed periods, though early elections to the UK parliament can occur in certain situations, with Senedd elections being postponed to avoid elections to the UK parliament and Senedd coinciding with each other.
Aberavon is a constituency of the Senedd. It elects one Member of the Senedd by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it is one of seven constituencies in the South Wales West electoral region, which elects four additional members, in addition to seven constituency members, to produce a degree of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Dwyfor Meirionnydd is a constituency of the Senedd, first created for the former Assembly's 2007 election. It elects one Member of the Senedd by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it is one of eight constituencies in the Mid and West Wales electoral region, which elects four additional members, in addition to nine constituency members, to produce a degree of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
The 2016 National Assembly for Wales election was held on Thursday 5 May 2016, to elect members (AMs) of the National Assembly for Wales, now known as the Senedd. It was the fifth election for the National Assembly, the third election taken under the rules of the Government of Wales Act 2006 and the first since the Wales Act 2014.
The next Senedd election is due to be held in or before May 2026 to elect 60 members to the Senedd. It will be the seventh devolved general election since the Senedd was established in 1999. It will also be the second election since the Senedd changed its name in May 2020.
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