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 often simply called the Welsh Assembly.
Julie Morgan is a Welsh Labour Party politician, who has been a Member of the Senedd for Cardiff North seat in the Senedd since the 2011 election. She was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiff North from 1997 until 2010.
The First Minister of Wales, known as First Secretary of Wales from 1999 until 2000, is the leader of the Welsh Government and keeper of the Welsh Seal. The first minister chairs the Welsh Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Welsh Government policy. Additional functions of the first minister include promoting and representing Wales in an official capacity, at home and abroad, and responsibility for constitutional affairs, as they relate to devolution and the Welsh Government.
Mair Eluned Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Ely is a Welsh Labour politician serving as Minister for Health and Social Services in the Welsh Government since 2021. Morgan has served as a Member of the House of Lords since 2011 and as a Member of the Senedd (MS) since 2016. She was previously Minister for the Welsh Language from 2017 to 2021, Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing from 2020 to 2021, and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1994 to 2009.
Jane Elizabeth Hutt is a Welsh Labour Party politician serving as Welsh Government Chief Whip since 2023 and Minister for Social Justice since 2021. She has served as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for the Vale of Glamorgan since 1999.
Carwyn Howell Jones is a Welsh politician who served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour from 2009 to 2018. He served as Counsel General for Wales from 2007 to 2009. Jones served as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Bridgend from 1999 to 2021.
Cardiff West 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 eight constituencies in the South Wales Central electoral region, which elects four additional members, in addition to eight constituency members, to produce a degree of proportional representation for the region as a whole. The constituency has twice provided the First Minister of Wales, Rhodri Morgan from 2000-2009 and Mark Drakeford from 2018–present.
Dame Rosemary Janet Mair Butler is a British politician who served as Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales from 2011 to 2016. A member of Welsh Labour, Butler was the Assembly Member for Newport West from 1999 to 2016.
The Senedd Commission is the corporate body for the Senedd of Wales. The commission is responsible for ensuring the property, staff and services are provided for the Senedd. The commission consists of the Llywydd of the Senedd and four members from different political parties, who each have different portfolios of work. The commission is supported by staff in the Commission and Support Service. Prior to 2020, the body was known as the National Assembly for Wales Commission.
Humphrey Vaughan ap David Gething is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician who has served as First Minister of Wales and the leader of Welsh Labour since 2024. He previously served as the Minister for Health and Social Services from 2016 to 2021 and Minister for the Economy from 2021 to 2024. He has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Cardiff South and Penarth since 2011.
Jeremy Miles is a Welsh Labour Co-op politician, serving as Minister for Education and Welsh Language in the Welsh Government since 2021. Prior to his present ministerial post, he served in the Welsh Government as Counsel General for Wales from 2017 to 2021, Brexit Minister from 2018 to 2021, and the Minister for coordinating Wales’ recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2021. Miles has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Neath since 2016.
Mark Drakeford is a Welsh politician who served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour from 2018 to 2024. He previously served in the Welsh Government as Cabinet Secretary for Finance from 2016 to 2018 and Minister for Health and Social Services from 2013 to 2016. Drakeford was first elected as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Cardiff West in 2011 and is considered to be on the soft left of Labour.
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 third Jones government was a Labour–Liberal Democrat coalition government formed after the 2016 general election in Wales. On 14 October 2016, Dafydd Elis-Thomas left Plaid Cymru in order to support the coalition government and to give them a ruling majority; he later sat as an independent in the Senedd. The government was replaced by the Drakeford government on 13 December 2018, following the resignation of Carwyn Jones as First Minister the previous day.
The first Morgan government was formed on 16 October 2000 by Rhodri Morgan and a was a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats, it was officially referred to as the 'Coalition Partnership'. It was preceded by the Interim Morgan administration, a Labour minority administration headed by Rhodri Morgan between February and October 2000.
The 2018 Welsh Labour Party leadership election took place between 9 November and 6 December 2018 to elect a successor to Carwyn Jones as leader of the Welsh Labour Party.
The First Drakeford government was a Labour-led government formed after the resignation of Carwyn Jones as First Minister of Wales on 12 December 2018, and the subsequent appointment of Mark Drakeford in his place following a leadership contest. The government was also supported by the sole Welsh Liberal Democrat MS Kirsty Williams and the independent MS Dafydd Elis-Thomas. Drakeford's first term as First Minister is known for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Welsh politics, the term clear red water refers to the Welsh Labour strategy of distancing itself from the UK Labour Party and adopting both more progressive and more distinctly Welsh policies. The strategy was first formulated in the early 2000s, with the Rhodri Morgan-led Welsh government using it to distinguish itself from Tony Blair's New Labour. The term itself is credited to Mark Drakeford AM.
The second Drakeford government was the Labour-led government formed after the 2021 Senedd Election on 6 May 2021, with Mark Drakeford re-appointed as First Minister without opposition on 12 May 2021.
The Chief Whip is a member of the cabinet in the Welsh Government. The current officeholder is Jane Hutt since May 2023.
