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.
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic Sea to the south-west. As of 2021, it had a population of 3.2 million. It has a total area of 21,218 square kilometres (8,192 sq mi) and over 2,700 kilometres (1,680 mi) of coastline. It is largely mountainous with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon, its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate. Its capital and largest city is Cardiff.
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.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales which promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest animal welfare organisation in the world, and is one of the largest charities in the UK. The organisation also does international outreach work across Europe, Africa and Asia.
David Thomas Charles Davies is a British politician who was Secretary of State for Wales from 2022 to 2024. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Monmouth from 2005 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he chaired the Welsh Affairs Select Committee from 2010 to 2019. Davies also served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales from 2019 to 2022, and as Member of the Welsh Assembly (AM) for Monmouth from 1999 to 2007.
Cardiff Airport is an airport in Rhoose, Wales. It is the only airport offering commercial passenger services in Wales. The airport is owned by the Welsh Government, operating it at arm's length as a commercial business.
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).
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 community councils and the 22 principal areas, and the police and crime commissioner elections. In addition there are by-elections for each aforementioned election. Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday. Three of these four types of elections are held after fixed periods; the exception is UK general elections, the timing of which is at the discretion of the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Senedd elections may be postponed to avoid elections to the UK parliament and Senedd coinciding with each other.
BBC One Wales is a Welsh free-to-air television channel owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales. It is the Welsh variation of the UK-wide BBC One network and is broadcast from Central Square in Cardiff.
Welsh independence is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom.
The Counsel General for Wales is the Welsh Government's Law Officer, which means the government's chief legal adviser and representative in the courts. In addition to these "lawyer" roles the Counsel General also works to uphold the rule of law and integrity of the legal community in Wales, and has a number of important specific statutory functions, some of which are to be exercised independently of government and in the public interest.
A Measure of the National Assembly for Wales is primary legislation in Wales that is a category lower than an Act of Parliament. In the case of contemporary Welsh law, the difference with acts is that the competence to pass Measures was subject to 'LCOs' or Legislative Competence Order, which transferred powers to the Assembly by amending Schedule 5 of the Government of Wales Act 2006.
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.
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 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.
This is a timeline of the history of television in Wales. It does not include events that affect the whole UK.
Romani people have been recorded in the United Kingdom since at least the early 16th century. There are estimated to be around 225,000 Romani residing in the UK. This includes the Romanichal, Kale, Scottish Lowland Roma and a sizeable population of Roma from Continental Europe, who immigrated into the UK in the late 1990s/early 2000s and after EU expansion in 2004. They are considered part of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) community.
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.
The Wild Animals and Circuses (Wales) Act 2020 is an act of Senedd Cymru, which bans circuses from using wild animals.
The Environmental Protection (Wales) Act 2023 is an act of Senedd Cymru which heavily restricts the supply of certain single-use products to consumers.
