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Politics of Wales |
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There are a number of political parties registered to the Electoral Commission in Wales. Some of these parties have elected representation in the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; Welsh : Senedd Cymru) and/or in Westminster (UK Parliament) and some have elected representation in one or more of the 22 Welsh local authorities, while others have entirely no elected representation. This Wikipedia page lists all of the above and some relevant Welsh political parties that formerly existed but have since disbanded. The largest political parties typically reside[ clarification needed ] in either the House of Commons or the Senedd, the current largest party in Wales is Welsh Labour, followed closely by the Welsh Conservatives and Plaid Cymru.
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is a legislative body in the United Kingdom and creates primary legislation. [1] There are two chambers within the Parliament of the United Kingdom: the House of Commons (the elected chamber) and the House of Lords. This article focuses on the House of Commons. Three parties have elected representatives in that house (MPs): Welsh Labour, Welsh Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru. Since the 2024 general election, here has been no elected MPs from the Welsh Conservatives. [2]
The Senedd was formed under the Government of Wales Act 1998, by the Labour government, following a referendum in 1997. It was given greater powers under the 2011 Welsh devolution referendum. In 2021, four parties have elected representatives in the Senedd: Welsh Labour, Welsh Conservatives, Plaid Cymru and Welsh Liberal Democrats.
Party | Translation | Leader | Political position | Ideology | MSs | MPs | Local government | Membership [a] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Welsh Labour [b] | Welsh : Llafur Cymru | ![]() | Eluned Morgan | Centre-left | Social democracy British unionism | 31 / 60 | 27 / 32 | 512 / 1,234 | 22,000 [3] | |
Welsh Conservatives | Welsh : Ceidwadwyr Cymreig | ![]() | Andrew RT Davies | Centre-right to right-wing | Conservatism Economic liberalism British unionism | 16 / 60 | 0 / 32 | 111 / 1,234 | Unknown | |
Plaid Cymru | English: Party of Wales | ![]() | Rhun ap Iorwerth | Centre-left to left-wing | Welsh nationalism Welsh independence Democratic socialism Social democracy Environmentalism Regionalism Civic nationalism | 12 / 60 | 4 / 32 | 201 / 1,234 | 10,100 [4] | |
Welsh Liberal Democrats | Welsh : Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru | ![]() | Jane Dodds | Centre to centre-left | Liberalism Social liberalism British unionism Pro-Europeanism | 1 / 60 | 1 / 32 | 63 / 1,234 | 3,133 [5] |
Several parties in Wales have no national representation, but have elected representation at the local government level.
Party | Translation | Elected members of local government | Political position | Ideology | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wales Green Party [6] | Welsh : Plaid Werdd Cymru | 8 [7] [8] | Left-wing | Green politics Progressivism | |
Llantwit First Independents | Welsh : Annibynwyr Cyntaf Llantwit | 4 (Vale of Glamorgan Council) | N/A | Localism | |
Uplands Party [9] | Welsh : Plaid Uplands | 4 (Swansea Council) | N/A | Localism | |
Reform UK | Welsh : Diwygio DU | 3 (Torfaen County Borough Council) | Right-wing | Right-wing populism Euroscepticism | |
Newport Independents Party | Welsh : Plaid Annibynwyr Casnewydd | 3 (Newport City Council) | N/A | Localism | |
Propel | 1 (Cardiff Council) | None [10] | Welsh nationalism Welsh independence Localism Sovereignism | ||
Gwlad | English: Country | 1 (Ceredigion County Council) | Centre-right [11] | Welsh nationalism Welsh independence |
Party | Translation | Elected members of local government | Political position | Ideology | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gwlad | English: Country | 2 | Centre-right [12] | Welsh nationalism Welsh independence |
![]() | This section needs to be updated.(May 2022) |
Council | Control | Web | Total | LAB | PC | CON | LD | GP | Other | Vacant | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blaenau Gwent | LAB | maj | URL | 33 | 21 | 12 [w 1] | |||||
Bridgend | LAB | maj | URL | 51 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 22 [w 2] | |||
Caerphilly | LAB | maj | URL | 69 | 45 | 18 | 6 [w 3] | ||||
Cardiff | LAB | maj | URL | 79 | 55 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 3 [w 4] | ||
Carmarthenshire | NOC | IND+PC | URL | 75 | 19 | 37 | 19 [w 5] | ||||
Ceredigion | PC | maj | URL | 38 | 21 | 7 | 10 [w 6] | ||||
Conwy | NOC | IND+PC+LAB | URL | 55 | 9 | 8 [w 7] | 10 | 4 | 1 | 23 [w 8] | |
Denbighshire | NOC | LAB+PC | URL | 48 | 15 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 14 [w 9] | ||
Flintshire | NOC | IND+LAB | URL | 67 | 29 | 1 | 3 | 30 [w 10] | |||
Gwynedd | PC | maj | URL | 69 | 1 | 46 | 1 | 21 [w 11] | |||
Isle of Anglesey | PC | maj | URL | 35 | 3 | 20 | 12 [w 12] | ||||
Merthyr Tydfil | NOC | LAB min | URL | 30 | 14 [w 13] | 16 [w 14] | |||||
Monmouthshire | NOC | LAB min | URL | 46 | 21 | 19 | 1 | 5 [w 15] | |||
Neath Port Talbot | NOC | IND+PC | URL | 60 | 27 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 19 [w 16] | ||
Newport | LAB | maj | URL | 51 | 34 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 8 [w 17] | ||
Pembrokeshire | IND | IND+LAB+PC | URL | 60 | 10 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 35 [w 18] | ||
Powys | NOC | LD+LAB | URL | 68 | 9 [w 19] | 4 | 15 | 22 [w 20] | 1 | 17 [w 21] | |
Rhondda Cynon Taf | LAB | maj | URL | 75 | 59 | 8 | 2 | 6 [w 22] | |||
Swansea | LAB | maj | URL | 75 | 45 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 12 [w 23] | ||
Torfaen | LAB | maj | URL | 40 | 28 | 11 [w 24] | |||||
Vale of Glamorgan | NOC | LAB+IND | URL | 54 | 25 | 8 | 13 | 8 [w 25] | |||
Wrexham | NOC | IND+CON | URL | 56 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 23 [w 26] | |||
Total | 1,234 | 512 | 201 | 111 | 63 | 8 | 338 | 1 |
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.
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.
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.
Aberavon is a constituency of the Senedd. It elects one Member of the Senedd by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it is one of seven constituencies in the South Wales West electoral region, which elects four additional members, in addition to seven constituency members, to produce a degree of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Welsh independence is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom.
Politics of Cardiff refers to the political representation of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. Cardiff is represented politically at a local, Wales and United Kingdom level and previously at the European level.
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.
Propel is a sovereignist and Welsh nationalist political party in Wales which advocates Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. The party was formed in early 2020 by its current leader Neil McEvoy. Propel currently has one county councillor in Wales.
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Unionism in Wales is the political view that supports a political union between Wales and the other countries of the United Kingdom. As well as the current state of the UK, unionism may also include support for Federalism in the United Kingdom and a United Kingdom Confederation.
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.
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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.
Gwlad is a centre-right Welsh nationalist and pro-independence political party. Its current leader is Gwyn Wigley Evans.
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.
The 2022 Cardiff Council election took place on 5 May 2022 to elect 79 members to Cardiff Council. On the same day, elections were held to the other 21 local authorities and to community councils in Wales as part of the 2022 Welsh local elections.
The 2022 Wrexham County Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022 to elect 56 members to Wrexham County Borough Council, the principal council of Wrexham County Borough, Wales. On the same day, elections were held to the other 21 local authorities, and community councils in Wales as part of the 2022 Welsh local elections. The previous Wrexham County Borough all-council election took place in May 2017 and future elections will take place every five years, with the next scheduled for 2027.
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