Plaid Cymru is a centre-left to left-wing,Welsh nationalist political party in Wales,committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. It campaigns on a platform of social democracy and civic nationalism. The party is a strong supporter of the European Union and is a member of the European Free Alliance (EFA). The party holds 4 of 32 Welsh seats in the UK Parliament,12 of 60 seats in the Senedd,and 202 of 1,231 principal local authority councillors. Plaid was formed in 1925 under the name Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru and Gwynfor Evans won the first Westminster seat for the party at the 1966 Carmarthen by-election.
Blaenau Gwent is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders the unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east,Caerphilly to the west and Powys to the north. Its main towns are Abertillery,Brynmawr,Ebbw Vale and Tredegar. Its highest point is Coity Mountain at 1,896 feet (578 m).
Laura Anne Jones is a Conservative politician who has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for the South Wales East electoral region since July 2020,having previously held the same seat as an Assembly Member (AM) in the National Assembly for Wales between 2003 and 2007. Jones also served as a county councillor for the Wyesham ward in Monmouthshire County Council from 2017 to 2022.
Mark Allan Isherwood is a Welsh Conservative Party politician,who has served as a Member of the Senedd (MS) for the North Wales region since 2003. He is currently Shadow Counsel General and Shadow Minister for Housing and Planning. Isherwood has held a number of Shadow Ministerial positions for the Welsh Conservatives since he was first elected,at various points holding portfolios for Finance,Social Justice,North Wales,Europe,Housing,Communities and Local Government,among others. He is also particularly notable for his advocacy for people with both physical and learning disabilities and impairments. He is himself deaf,and chairs cross party groups on disability,deaf issues and Autism,among others.
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.
Darren David Millar is a Welsh Conservative politician who has served as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Clwyd West since 2007.
Andrew Robert Tudor Davies CBE is a Welsh politician serving as Leader of the Welsh Conservative Group in the Senedd since 2021,previously holding the position from 2011 to 2018. He has been a Member of the Senedd (MS) since 2007.
Paul Windsor Davies is a British politician who has served as Member of the Senedd (MS) for Preseli Pembrokeshire since 2007. He served as Leader of the Welsh Conservatives and Leader of the Opposition in Wales from June 2018 to January 2021,resigning after possible breaches of Welsh COVID-19 rules. He had previously been Deputy Leader from 2011 to 2018 and Acting Leader in 2011 and 2018.
Margaret Delyth Evans is a Welsh former politician who served as Deputy Minister for Rural Affairs,Culture and Environment in the National Assembly for Wales from 2000 to 2003. A member of the Labour Party,she was Assembly Member (AM) for Mid and West Wales from 2000 until her retirement from the National Assembly in 2003. Since 2019,she has sat on the board of Sport Wales.
The 2007 National Assembly for Wales election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the National Assembly for Wales. It was the third general election. On the same day local elections in England and Scotland,as well as the Scottish Parliament election took place. This election was preceded by the previous Assembly election in 2003.
Circuit of Wales is a failed motor racing circuit and technology park development proposal in Blaenau Gwent on the outskirts of Ebbw Vale,Wales,adjacent to the Neath to Abergavenny Trunk Road (A465). The intention was that it would be funded by private investors and backed by the Welsh Government. In April 2016,BBC News reported that The Heads of the Valleys Development Company,would continue to negotiate with both the financial backers,Aviva,and the Welsh Government.
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.
Neil John McEvoy is a Welsh nationalist politician,serving as leader of Propel since 2020,and as a Cardiff Councillor for the Fairwater ward since 2008.
Steffan Lewis was a Welsh politician,who was elected to the National Assembly for Wales in the 2016 election. He represented the electoral region of South Wales East,as a member of Plaid Cymru.
The 2021 Senedd election took place on Thursday 6 May 2021 to elect 60 members to the Senedd. It was the sixth devolved general election since the Senedd was established in 1999. The election was held alongside the Scottish Parliament election,English local elections,London Assembly and mayoral election and the Hartlepool by-election.
In the Senedd,the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the Official Opposition,the largest political party that is not in the Welsh Government. The Leader of the Opposition leads and appoints members of the Shadow Cabinet and as such is sometimes styled as the Shadow First Minister of Wales.
Plaid Cymru and the Green Party of England and Wales have a history of running candidates together,under the names of both parties. The parties have done this at a number of different elections,including to successfully elect an MP,Cynog Dafis,at the 1992 general election.
Nick Bourne became Leader of the Opposition in Wales after the Welsh Conservatives became the largest party that was not a part of the government in the National Assembly for Wales after the 2007 Assembly Elections. This was because the second largest overall party,Plaid Cymru,had entered into government as part of the One Wales coalition with Welsh Labour.
Andrew RT Davies became Leader of the Opposition in July 2011,after he was elected leader of the Welsh Conservatives,which formed the second largest party bloc in the National Assembly for Wales after the 2011 National Assembly for Wales election.
