Leader of the Opposition (Wales)

Last updated

Leader of the Opposition
Arweinydd yr Wrthblaid (Welsh)
Andrew RT Davies 2016.jpg
Incumbent
Andrew RT Davies
since 7 May 2021
Style Member of the Senedd (MS)
Term length While leader of the largest political party in the Senedd that is not in government
Inaugural holder Dafydd Wigley
FormationMay 1999
Salary£104,709 for 2024/25 tax year

In the Senedd, the Leader of the Opposition [1] [2] (Welsh : Arweinydd yr Wrthblaid) [3] [4] is the leader of the Official Opposition (Welsh : Yr Wrthblaid Swyddogol), 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 (Shadow First Secretary before 2000).

Since 7 May 2021 the Leader of the Opposition in the Senedd is Andrew RT Davies (Conservative). To date the office has been held by six individuals, three from Plaid Cymru and three from the Welsh Conservatives. Only one, Ieuan Wyn Jones, has gone on to serve in the Welsh Government.

Role

Like in the Westminster system of the UK Parliament, the Welsh Senedd has an official opposition [5] which, by convention, serves to scrutinise the government of the day and acts as an alternative government-in-waiting. [6] [7] The Official Opposition is formed from the largest political party in the Senedd which does not serve in the Welsh Government. [6] This is generally the second largest party in the Senedd, [8] [9] [10] [5] [11] however smaller parties may also fulfill the role when there is a coalition between the largest parties. [12] [13] [14] The Leader of the Opposition leads the Official Opposition and appoints its members to the Welsh Shadow Cabinet, whose portfolios mirror those of ministers or cabinet secretaries [lower-alpha 1] in the Welsh Government. [6] [15] Members of the Shadow Cabinet lead the Official Opposition in challenging government ministers and holding them to account. [6] [lower-alpha 2]

As with some other practices in the Senedd, the roles of Official Opposition and Leader of the Opposition have no legal basis, instead they have developed as conventions in the Senedd. [6] Both concepts were introduced on an informal basis with the establishment of the Senedd as the National Assembly for Wales in 1999, with the inaugural holder being Dafydd Wigley of Plaid Cymru, the Official Opposition in the assembly at the time. [16] Official recognition was granted in October 2000 with the formation of Rhodri Morgan's coalition government between Welsh Labour and the Welsh Liberal Democrats, with Wigley's successor Ieuan Wyn Jones formally being granted the title of Leader of the Opposition as the assembly began to adopt some elements of the style of government as seen in Westminster. [17] The official introduction of the role also signalled a move toward increased predecence for the Official Opposition in plenary sessions of the assembly and on its subject committees, leading to further scrutiny of the government. [18]

The Leader of the Opposition is officially recognised by the Llywydd of the Senedd [19] and on the website of the Senedd as uniquely serving in that position. [1] [2] Sometimes, the Leader of the Opposition is also styled as the Shadow First Minister of Wales, [lower-alpha 3] which is a role they can hold as leader of the Shadow Cabinet; [20] [21] this title has been held by Dafydd Wigley [22] [21] and Ieuan Wyn Jones [20] of Plaid Cymru and Nick Bourne [23] of the Welsh Conservatives.

Salary

In 2001, the National Assembly for Wales decided to grant the Leader of the Opposition a dedicated salary, equivalent to that of a minister in the Welsh Government, of around £34,000. By the end of the third legislative term of the National Assembly in 2011, the salary of the Leader of the Opposition was £41,949. [24]

Going into the fourth term of the assembly in 2011, the Independent Remuneration Board of the assembly replaced the dedicated salary of the Leader of the Opposition with a general salary for all opposition party leaders in the assembly, with a miniimum salary of £12,420 which was increased by £1,000 for each seat held by their party. As such, the salary of the Leader of the Opposition, with 14 AMs in their party at the time, was reduced to £26,420 from July 2011 and frozen for a period of four years. [25] In April 2023, Leader of the Opposition Andrew RT Davies's salary as leader of the Conservative opposition group in the Senedd was set at £101,656. [26] In March 2024, Davies's salary was increased to £104,709 for the 2024/25 tax year. [27]

History

Between July 2007 and May 2011, Nick Bourne served as Leader of the Opposition, even though the Conservatives were the third largest group in the Assembly. This was a result of the Welsh Government's make-up consisting of Labour and Plaid Cymru, which were the largest and second largest groups respectively.

Following the 2016 election, Plaid Cymru (led by Leanne Wood) became the largest group not in government, having won 12 seats to the Welsh Conservatives' 11. On 14 October 2016 Dafydd Elis-Thomas left Plaid Cymru to sit as an independent, which resulted in Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Conservatives both holding 11 seats. During this period Leanne Wood was not referred to as Leader of the Opposition but was instead referred to as the leader of Plaid Cymru. [28] The Conservative group grew to 12 following Mark Reckless's defection from UKIP to the Conservative Group on 6 April 2017, and Andrew RT Davies was once again referred to as Leader of the Opposition. [28]

On 29 March 2021 Nick Ramsay left the Welsh Conservative party, [29] meaning that the group had lost its title as the largest party not in government as by this point both the Welsh Conservatives and Plaid Cymru were tied on 10 seats each, with no official office holder of the Leader of the opposition in the final period before the 2021 Senedd election.

Following the 2021 Senedd election the Welsh Conservatives returned 16 seats making them comfortably the second party ahead of Plaid Cymru who won 13 and as a result Andrew RT Davies once again became Leader of the Opposition. [30]

List of leaders of the opposition in the Senedd

No.PortraitName
(Birth–Death)
Constituency/Title
Term of officePolitical partyFirst Minister
1 Dafydd Wigley (cropped).jpg Dafydd Wigley
(1943–)
AM for Caernarfon
12 May
1999
16 March
2000
Plaid Cymru Alun Michael
Rhodri Morgan
2 Ieuan Wyn Jones 2011 (cropped).jpg Ieuan Wyn Jones
(1949–)
AM for Ynys Môn
16 March
2000
11 July
2007
Plaid Cymru Rhodri Morgan
3 Cropped image of Nick-bourne-580x358.jpg Nick Bourne
(1952–)
AM for Mid and West Wales
11 July
2007
6 May
2011
Conservative Rhodri Morgan
Carwyn Jones
Paul Davies AM 2011.jpg Paul Davies
Acting

(1969–)
MS for Preseli Pembrokeshire
6 May
2011
14 July
2011
Conservative Carwyn Jones
4 Andrew R. T. Davies.jpg Andrew RT Davies
(1968–)
MS for South Wales Central
14 July
2011
5 May
2016
Conservative
5 Leanne Wood AM (27555056394).jpg Leanne Wood
(1971–)
MS for Rhondda
5 May
2016
14 October
2016 [31]
Plaid Cymru
Not in use
14 Oct 2016 – 6 April 2017
During this period both Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Conservatives were tied on 11 seats each. This was after Lord Elis-Thomas left Plaid Cymru to sit as an independent. Leanne Wood was not referred to as Leader of the Opposition during this period and was instead referred to as the leader of Plaid Cymru. [28] The Conservative group grew to 12 following Mark Reckless's defection from the UK Independence Party to the Conservatives on 6 April, and Andrew RT Davies was referred to as Leader of the Opposition once more. [28]
(4) Andrew RT Davies 2016.jpg Andrew RT Davies
(1968–)
MS for South Wales Central
6 April
2017
27 June
2018
Conservative
6 Paul Davies AM (28170823155).jpg Paul Davies
(1969–)
MS for Preseli Pembrokeshire
27 June
2018 [32]
23 January

2021

Conservative Carwyn Jones
Mark Drakeford
(4) Andrew RT Davies 2016.jpg Andrew RT Davies
(1968–)
MS for South Wales Central
24 January

2021 [33]

29 March

2021

Conservative Mark Drakeford

Vaughan Gething

Not in use
29 March – 7 May 2021
During the final period before the 2021 Senedd election both the Welsh Conservatives and Plaid Cymru were tied on 10 seats each. This happened after Nick Ramsay left the Welsh Conservatives and group in the Senedd to stand as an independent in the Senedd election. [34]
(4) Andrew RT Davies 2016.jpg Andrew RT Davies
(1968–)
MS for South Wales Central
7 May
2021
Incumbent
Conservative

See also

Notes and references

Notes

  1. In the Welsh Government, senior ministers are currently known as cabinet secretaries, having previously held that title from 2016 to 2018, while junior ministers are simply known as ministers, also previously holding that title from 2016 to 2018. From 2000 to 2016 and 2018 to 2024, senior ministers were known as ministers and junior ministers were known as deputy ministers. Before 2000, senior ministers were known as assembly secretaries.
  2. Other opposition parties appoint frontbench teams sometimes known as shadow cabinets whose members perform a similar role, but these have no official recognition unlike the Shadow Cabinet.
  3. Before October 2000, this office was titled Shadow First Secretary of Wales.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frontbench Team of Nick Bourne</span> Welsh Conservatives frontbench team (1999–2007)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Shadow Cabinet of Andrew RT Davies</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow Cabinet of Leanne Wood</span>

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References

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  31. The day Dafydd Elis-Thomas left Plaid Cymru to sit as an independent AM.
  32. Served as acting leader from 27 June to 6 September 2018.
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