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 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.
The Senedd,officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and Senedd Cymru in Welsh,is the devolved,unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body,it makes laws for Wales,agrees to certain taxes,and scrutinises the Welsh Government. It is a bilingual institution,with both Welsh and English being the official languages of its business. From its creation in May 1999 until May 2020,the Senedd was officially known as the National Assembly for Wales and was often simply called the Welsh Assembly.
Ronald Davies is a retired Welsh politician,former Secretary of State for Wales,former Member of Parliament and former member of the Welsh Assembly. He describes himself as a politician belonging to the "traditional left" who had "spent his life looking for a socialist progressive party". He was a member of the Labour Party,and then of Forward Wales (2004–2009);he was subsequently an independent candidate and eventually joined Plaid Cymru in 2010.
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.
Politics in Wales forms a distinctive polity in the wider politics of the United Kingdom,with Wales as one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom (UK).
Welsh Labour,formerly known as the Labour Party in Wales,is an autonomous section of the United Kingdom Labour Party in Wales and the largest party in modern Welsh politics. Welsh Labour and its forebears have won a plurality of the Welsh vote at every UK general election since 1922,every Assembly and Senedd election since 1999,and all elections to the European Parliament in the period 1979–2004 and in 2014. Welsh Labour holds 27 of the 32 Welsh seats in the UK Parliament,30 of the 60 seats in the Welsh Senedd and 576 of the 1,264 councillors in principal local authorities including overall control of 10 of the 22 principal local authorities.
The Welsh Conservatives,also known as the Welsh Conservative Party,is the branch of the United Kingdom Conservative Party that operates in Wales. At Westminster elections,it is the second-most popular political party in Wales by vote share,having obtained the second-largest share of the vote at every general election since 1931. In Senedd elections,the Conservatives are currently the second-most supported party but have at times been third. As of 2024,they hold none of the 32 Welsh seats in the Parliament of the United Kingdom,and 16 of the 60 seats in the Senedd.
Monmouthshire is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament,and was first contested at the 2024 general election,following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. Its current MP is Catherine Fookes,a member of the Labour.
In the United Kingdom,devolution is the Parliament of the United Kingdom's statutory granting of a greater level of self-government to the Scottish Parliament,the Senedd,the Northern Ireland Assembly and the London Assembly and to their associated executive bodies:the Scottish Government,the Welsh Government,the Northern Ireland Executive and in England,the Greater London Authority and combined authorities.
Monmouth Town Council is the town council of the traditional county town of Monmouth,south-east Wales. The Council comprises 19 members,who are elected every five years. The Mayor is the titular head of the council. The council has its offices in the Shire Hall,a Grade I listed building owned by Monmouthshire County Council.
Joanna Meriel Stevens is a Welsh politician serving as Secretary of State for Wales since 2024. A member of the Labour Party,she has been a Member of Parliament (MP) since 2015,representing Cardiff East since 2024,having previously represented Cardiff Central.
Elizabeth Saville Roberts is a Welsh Plaid Cymru politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dwyfor Meirionnydd since 2015. She has served as the group leader of Plaid Cymru in the House of Commons since 2017.
The Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party,or in Wales,simply Abolish,is a registered single issue political party in Wales. It campaigns for the abolition of the Senedd,formerly known as the "National Assembly for Wales",the devolved legislature of Wales. Abolish advocates that devolved powers be returned to the Secretary of State for Wales within the UK Central Government and the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster.
The 2017 Welsh local elections were held on 4 May 2017 to elect members of all 22 local authorities in Wales. This included the Isle of Anglesey,which was previously up for election in 2013 due to having its elections delayed for a year. Community council elections also took place on the same day. These local elections were held as part of the 2017 local elections in the United Kingdom. Apart from Anglesey,the last elections were held in 2012. Normally these elections take place every four years,but the 2017 elections were postponed for a year in order to avoid clashing with the 2016 Welsh Assembly election,which itself had been postponed by a year to avoid clashing with the 2015 general election.
Jane Winifred Dodds is a Welsh politician who has served as Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats since 2017. She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brecon and Radnorshire at the seat's 2019 by-election,but was an MP for only three months before being defeated in the general election later the same year. In May 2021,Dodds was elected to the Senedd on the Mid and West Wales list. She is the only Liberal Democrat MS in the Senedd.
Alexandra Davies-Jones is a Welsh Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Pontypridd since 2019. She has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Victims since July 2024. She previously served as Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding from November 2023 to July 2024.
Llinos Medi Huws is a Welsh Plaid Cymru politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Ynys Môn since 2024. She previously served as leader of the Isle of Anglesey County Council from 2017 to 2024. A councillor for Talybolion ward,she was first elected to the local authority in 2013,and became leader of the Plaid Cymru group in 2015.
The 2022 Welsh local elections took place on 5 May 2022 to elect members of all twenty-two local authorities in Wales. They were held alongside other local elections in the United Kingdom. The previous elections were held in 2017.
Welsh devolution is the transfer of legislative powers for self-governance to Wales by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The current system of devolution began following the enactment of the Government of Wales Act 1998,with the responsibility of various devolved powers granted to the Welsh Government rather than being the responsibility of the Government of the United Kingdom.
Plaid Cymru and the Green Party of England and Wales have a history of collaborative working,including 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.
