The Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024, also nicknamed the "Senedd Reform Act", was introduced to the Senedd on 18 September 2023,[2] and received royal assent on 24 June 2024. It was the culmination of various proposals for reforming the Senedd, particularly the increase in the numbers of members of the Senedd, and changing the existing voting system.[3]
The 2024 act renamed the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales to the "Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru", and gave it the responsibility to conduct boundary reviews of the Senedd constituencies for both the 2026 and 2030 Senedd elections, and regular boundary reviews thereafter.[7]
Following the reduction in the number of Welsh MPs and the implementation of new constituency boundaries for the 2024 UK general election,[8] the proposals[5] and subsequently the 2024 act, required the new Senedd constituencies to be contiguous pairings of the 32 UK Parliament constituencies used in Wales since the 2024.[9] Therefore there would be 16 constituencies, electing six members each, to replace the existing 40 constituencies and five regions.[10] The commission was also required by the law to give constituencies a single name in both Welsh and English, unless it could be considered unacceptable for a single name.[11] The commission later decided all the new constituencies were to use Welsh-only names.[12]
The review began in July 2024.[11] The 2026 review was time-constricted,[13] therefore the subsequent 2030 review, the first full boundary review in 18 years, would provide the commission with more flexibility.[14][15]
Initial proposals (September 2024)
The Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru revealed its initial proposals for the proposed new constituencies in September 2024, following the commencement of the review in July 2024.[9][11]
Map of the 16 constituencies in the commission's initial proposals.
In December 2024, the commission published its revised proposals following a consultation. The two major changes were the switching of the Cardiff constituencies into different pairs,[16] and the announcement that all (except four) of the constituencies will have Welsh-language names only, not having English-language names.[17]
The decision for only Welsh-language names received support from Cymdeithas yr Iaith, but the society called for the remaining four English names to be removed as well. They further suggested cutting the compass directions from the excepted names if needed for them to be Welsh-only. While Andrew RT Davies, former leader of the Welsh Conservatives, called the decision a "disenfranchise[ment]" of English-language only speakers, and called for constituencies covering English-speaking majority areas to have English-language names as well.[17][18] The commission was required by law to give constituencies a single name for use in both languages, unless it was considered unacceptable. With four constituencies having bilingual names in the revised proposals.[11][18]
Map of the revised proposal of the 16 new Senedd constituencies, in December 2024. The final map, released three months later, would have some constituencies named differently and different boundaries in Cardiff.
By law, the Senedd must put these final determinations into effect for the 2026 Senedd election without alteration.[20] The commission is to conduct another full boundary review of Senedd constituencies following the 2026 election and the first in 18 years, for the subsequent Senedd election scheduled for 2030.[12][21]
In the final proposals, several constituency names were changed, giving all of them a single Welsh-only name, including the remaining four which had been bilingual in the revised proposals. This met the conditions set in law that the constituencies must have a single name for use in Welsh and English, unless it was considered unacceptable.[11]
The use of all Welsh-only names prompted a re-iteration of support from Cymdeithas yr Iaith chairman Joseff Gnagbo, who stated the move to be an "important precedent" for any future constituencies to also have Welsh-only names and for Welsh-only names to be used in other contexts as well. While the move received condemnation from former Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies stating that respondents to the commission's consultation mentioned that it "disenfranchised them", commenting that "they were ignored", and that "Wales is bilingual and constituency names should be in both languages".[12] Other Conservative MSs from Powys claimed the larger constituencies means the link between representatives and constituents "will be lost" and criticised the loss of "Radnorshire" from the map.[22]
The commission stated the Welsh-only names were "acceptable and recognisable for people across Wales".[12] Shreen Williams, the head of the commission, stated that the move prompted a "pushback", but backed it stating that the opposition they received was "primarily [...] anti-Welsh sentiment",[23] which was "incredibly disappointing".[12] The final consultation had over 4,000 responses[24] and was described by the commission to have received more responses then any other consultation "by a considerable margin".[25]
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