Simply and exactly, Senedd translates into English as “Parliament”. Senedd Cymru is Wales’ democratically-elected body, and it scrutinises the activities of the Welsh Government. Of course, with Wales remaining a member of the United Kingdom, it can only exercise devolved powers from the UK Government.
This includes powers over such matters as the Welsh NHS, education, the Welsh economy, transport, the environment, local government, and some limited tax powers. The UK Government retains powers over policing, justice, pensions, foreign affairs, and the Crown Estate.The Welsh Government is primarily funded by the UK Government via the use of block grants. Last year nearly 80% of the Welsh Government’s budget came from the UK Government. The Welsh Government is then free to use this funding as it pleases, subject to Senedd scrutiny and votes of course.
Elections to the Senedd work differently than elections to the House of Commons. The Senedd has always used the “additional member system (AMS)” to elect its sixty members. In practice, this means forty membersare elected via “constituencies” (exactly like in UK elections). Twenty further members are then elected to represent five “electoral regions” using the D’Hondt method of proportional representation.
Significant reform is ready for the 2026 elections. The Welsh public will be tasked to elect ninety-six members to an expanded Senedd via a party-list proportional representation system, using the D’Hondt method. The new system will use sixteen six-member constituencies, with members elected via the D’Hondt method again. Other changes include reducing the length of Senedd terms from five years to four.
As leader of the Welsh Labour Party, Eluned Morgan has been first minister of Wales since August. While being the first woman to ever hold the position, she also became the third first minister of 2024 when she was elected in August. Sandwiched in between Mark Drakeford’s resignation in March, and Baroness Morgan’s current premiership, was Vaughan Gething’s controversy-filled time in office. Eluned Morgan is also currently served by Huw Irranca-Davies as Deputy First Minister.
As the second largest party in the Senedd, the Welsh Conservatives form the official opposition to the Welsh Labour government. They are led by Darren Millar in the Senedd. Just one seat behind the Welsh Tories is Plaid Cymru, led by Rhun ap Iorwerth. The Welsh Liberal Democrats are also represented in the Senedd by their leader, Jane Dodds, who is also currently the party’s only Senedd member.
After the Senedd celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary last year, Welsh public opinion remains generally favourably towards devolution. The most popular opinion has consistently been for the Senedd to receive increased powers. As ex-Welsh secretary Ron Davies famously said when Wales voted to introduce devolution in 1997, devolution is a “process, not an event”. With constitutional debates alive and well, thedevolution in 1997, devolution is a “process, not an event”. With constitutional debates alive and well, thestory of Welsh devolution seems destined to continue to be written over decades to come.