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.
Gwenda Thomas is a Welsh Labour politician who served as Member of the Welsh Assembly for Neath from the Assembly's start in 1999 to 2016. Thomas was first elected to the National Assembly for Wales in 1999 and re-elected in 2003,having almost doubled her majority.
Simon George Thomas is a Welsh former politician who was a member of Plaid Cymru. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Ceredigion from 2000 to 2005,and an Assembly Member in the National Assembly for Wales representing the Mid and West Wales list between 2011 and 2018.
Ieuan Wyn Jones is a Welsh politician who was the Deputy First Minister in the Welsh Government from 2007 to 2011. He was the Member of the National Assembly for Wales for the Ynys Môn constituency from 1999 to 2013,and he was also leader of Plaid Cymru from 2000 to 2012. Jones served as Member of Parliament for Ynys Môn constituency from 1987 to 2001,when he retired to focus on his work in the Welsh Assembly. In 2007,Jones was named Wales' "Politician of the Year" by the BBC Wales am.pm programme. He resigned from the Welsh Assembly on 20 June 2013. In 2017 he unsuccessfully sought to return to the House of Commons for his former constituency.
Helen Mary Jones is a Welsh Plaid Cymru politician,who was a member of the Senedd from 1999 to 2011 and again from 2018 to 2021.
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).
Gwynoro Glyndwr Jones is a Welsh politician who served as a Labour Member of Parliament. He was a schools inspector for 18 years;he has also been a broadcaster,political commentator and journalist. As a politician,he is best remembered for his long struggle to hold the mainly Welsh-speaking constituency of Carmarthen for the Labour Party against Plaid Cymru leader Gwynfor Evans,about which he wrote a book in the Welsh language.
Gareth Jones OBE is a Welsh politician. He was a member of the National Assembly for Wales for Conwy from 1999 until 2003 when he lost by 72 votes. He sought a successful re-election to the newly created Aberconwy constituency in 2007 before retiring in 2011. He was also Leader of Conwy County Borough Council,from 2017 to 2019,and a Llandudno town councillor representing the Craig-y-Don ward. He was formerly a member of Plaid Cymru,but left in 2017 after attempting to form a council administration in Conwy containing Welsh Conservatives,which the national party would not allow. He ran an independent administration of the council until 2019,when the Conservatives took control of the council.
The 2011 National Assembly for Wales election was an election for the National Assembly. The poll was held on 5 May 2011 and decided the incumbency for all the Assembly's seats. It was the fourth election for seats in the National Assembly for Wales,and the second election taken under the rules of the Government of Wales Act 2006.
Elizabeth Gwendoline Nerys Evans is a Welsh politician. She was a member of the National Assembly for Wales representing Plaid Cymru in the Mid and West Wales region. She contested the Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire seat for the 2011 National Assembly for Wales elections,finishing in third place,and thus lost her seat in the Assembly. She is currently a director of the public affairs agency Deryn.
Plaid Cymru originated in 1925 after a meeting held at that year's National Eisteddfod in Pwllheli,Caernarfonshire. Representatives from two Welsh nationalist groups founded the previous year,Byddin Ymreolwyr Cymru and Y Mudiad Cymreig,agreed to meet and discuss the need for a "Welsh party". The party was founded as Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru,the National Party of Wales,and attracted members from the left,right and centre of the political spectrum,including both monarchists and republicans. Its principal aims include the promotion of the Welsh language and the political independence of the Welsh nation.
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.
Keith Davies is a Welsh Labour politician and was the National Assembly for Wales member for Llanelli from 2011 until 2016. He beat Helen Mary Jones who was the deputy leader of Plaid Cymru,and incumbent AM for Llanelli,in May 2011.
Dafydd Trystan Davies is a Welsh academic and politician,who was chair of Plaid Cymru from 2013 until 2019,when he was replaced by Alun Ffred Jones. Trystan is currently the Senior Academic Manager and Registrar for Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol.
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 fifth election to Carmarthenshire County Council was held on 1 May 2012. It was preceded by the 2008 election and was followed by the 2017 election. Plaid Cymru won 28 seats whilst Labour and the Independents won 23 each. The main feature of the election was a Labour recovery in the Llanelli area,and to some extent in the Gwendraeth and Ammanford area also,mainly at the expense of Independent candidates. Plaid Cymru lost ground to Labour in the Llanelli area but gained seats elsewhere,becoming the largest party. An Independent-Labour coalition was again formed,but with Labour as the leading partner. As a result,Kevin Madge replaced Meryl Gravell as the leader of the council.
This is a list of Assembly Memberselected to the fifth National Assembly for Wales at the 2016 election. In May 2020,the representatives were renamed to Members of the Seneddin the fifth Senedd,they would be known as the fifth Senedd for the remainder of their term. From the 2021 election members would be elected under this new title of Senedd. There are a total of 60 members elected,40 were elected from first past the post constituencies with a further 20 members being returned from five regions,each electing four AMs through mixed member proportional representation. In between elections,members of the legislature may not necessarily be of the same party or the same candidate elected in 2016.
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.
Dafydd Wigley became Leader of the Opposition and Shadow First Secretary of Wales after the creation of the National Assembly for Wales on 12 May 1999,following the first assembly election held on 6 May. Members of his shadow cabinet were elected by Plaid Cymru's assembly members and announced on 18 May.
Ieuan Wyn Jones became Leader of the Opposition in Wales after being elected as President of Plaid Cymru,the Official Opposition in the National Assembly for Wales,on 3 August 2000. Jones had previously served in these roles in an acting capacity on the behalf of his predecessor Dafydd Wigley from December 1999 to February 2000. He formed his shadow cabinet on 9 August and,like his predecessor,appointed himself Shadow First Secretary of Wales and Shadow Assembly Secretary for Finance. Members of his shadow cabinet were initially known as shadow assembly secretaries until October 2000. From that month,members were known as shadow ministers,with Jones's titles also changing to Shadow First Minister of Wales and Shadow Minister for Finance,after a similar change was made to the names of ministerial posts in Rhodri Morgan's coalition government between Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Jones's shadow cabinet was dissolved after the formation of a coalition government between Plaid Cymru and Morgan's Labour Party on 19 July 2007.
