Senedd constituencies

The Senedd constituencies (Welsh: etholaethau Senedd Cymru)^[i] are the electoral districts used to elect members of the Senedd (MS; Welsh: Aelodau'r Senedd or AS) to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; Welsh: Senedd Cymru). Following reforms to the Senedd, sixteen new six-member constituencies were first contested at the 2026 Senedd election in May 2026, electing 96 members in total. The Senedd constituencies are not used for local government.

From the first election of the then National Assembly for Wales in 1999, until just prior to the 2026 Senedd election, forty single-member constituencies and five four-member electoral regions (Welsh: rhanbarthau etholiadol), electing 60 Senedd members in total, had been used.^[1] This first set of constituencies and electoral regions were created through the Government of Wales Act 1998, which established the National Assembly for Wales. The Assembly's constituencies were initially linked to the boundaries used for UK Parliament constituencies in Wales, set by the UK Parliament's Boundary Commission for Wales, except a delay in implementing new boundaries between the 2007 Assembly election and the subsequent 2010 UK election. The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011, unlinked the two sets of constituencies, meaning any changes to one set, no longer affected the other.

Subsequently, the UK Parliament introduced new constituencies for its 2024 UK election, and the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru was set up in 2024 to conduct boundary reviews of Senedd constituencies, with the constituencies not been overseen by a statutory body prior to 2024.^[2] Following the 2026 boundary review, 16 six-member constituencies are to be used at the 2026 Senedd election, whilst the electoral regions are being abolished. The new 16 constituencies are contiguous pairings of the UK Parliament constituencies in Wales and only have Welsh names. Another review will be conducted before the 2030 election.

Current constituencies (from 2026)

The following is the list of current constituencies, in use from the 2026 Senedd election, and their current members.

History

Establishment

Following the 1997 Welsh devolution referendum, where a narrow majority voted in support of the creation of a devolved Welsh Assembly, constituencies of the devolved legislature were established.

Section 2 of the Government of Wales Act 1998 stipulates that the constituencies for the National Assembly for Wales be the same as the constituencies used for elections to the United Kingdom Parliament.^[3] The same act sets out the creation of five regions which would use the same borders as the five European Parliamentary constituencies in Wales which themselves were set out in the European Parliamentary Constituencies (Wales) Order 1994,^[4] used for elections to the European Parliament between 1994 and 1999. The electoral regions set out are still used, despite the abolishment of the five European Parliamentary constituencies for an all-Wales constituency, and the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union. Although minor border adjustments to the regions have taken place.

2007 change in boundaries

In 2006, the Government of Wales Act 2006 was enacted. When enacted the act reinforced the link between Assembly and UK Parliamentary constituencies, and that the number of electoral regions is five.

Following the fifth periodic review of Westminster constituencies, new borders for the constituencies and electoral regions were defined by the Parliamentary Constituencies and Assembly Electoral Regions (Wales) Order 2006.^[1]

The order detailed the abolition of three constituencies (Caernarfon, Conwy, and Meironnydd Nant Conwy), with three new constituencies to replace them (Aberconwy, Arfon, and Dwyfor Meirionnydd). Nine constituencies were subject to "substantial" border adjustments involving the transfer of more than 3,000 inhabitants between constituencies. A further eight constituencies were subject to boundary changes resulting in the redistribution of fewer than 3,000 inhabitants between each constituency, and a further four constituencies were subject to minor boundary adjustments that led to minimal transfers of inhabitants between constituencies. The remaining sixteen constituencies were not subject to any boundary or name modifications.

The three new constituencies straddled the border of the electoral regions of Mid and West Wales and North Wales, leading to adjustments in the boundaries of both electoral regions, in addition to minor adjustments to the constituency of Montgomeryshire also leading to minor regional boundary adjustments. In south Wales, the boundaries of the electoral regions, South Wales West, and South Wales Central were altered to accommodate changes to the boundaries of Bridgend, and Vale of Glamorgan constituencies.

The changes in the boundaries for constituencies and electoral regions of the Senedd came into force for the 2007 National Assembly for Wales election.

Delinking from UK parliament constituencies

Section 13(1) of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 states that:^[5]

The Assembly constituencies are the constituencies specified in the Parliamentary Constituencies and Assembly Electoral Regions (Wales) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1041)24 as amended by— the Parliamentary Constituencies and Assembly Electoral Regions (Wales) (Amendment) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/1791)

— Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011

This details that any further changes to the UK Parliament constituencies in Wales specified in the act (notably the proposed reduction in constituencies to 30) will not be applied to Assembly (Senedd) constituencies.

In a session of the House of Commons where the then secretary of state for Wales, Cheryl Gillan was questioned on the Labour party's opposition to the decoupling of the two constituencies, she replied:^[6]

That is a very interesting thought. Hon. Members are well aware that the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 broke the link between Assembly constituencies and parliamentary constituencies. I have agreed that we need to look carefully at the implications of having constituency boundaries relating to different areas and regions for UK and Assembly elections in Wales.

— Rt. Hon Cheryl Gillan MP

Boundaries of Senedd constituencies and electoral regions were initially not overseen by any statutory review body,^[7] following the delinking of Senedd and UK Parliament constituencies in 2011. With the responsibility for proposing alterations to the boundaries of UK Parliament constituencies in Wales, and reporting to the UK Government, lay with the Boundary Commission for Wales. At the time, both constituencies had the same boundaries. Organisations such as the Electoral Reform Society Cymru indicated a preference for coterminosity (mirroring Senedd and UK Parliament constituencies, especially during the 2016 proposed reforms).^[8] However, such coterminosity was merely desired and was not enforced by law, meaning any changes to UK Parliament constituencies in Wales did not need to be mirrored for Senedd constituencies. The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies reduced the number of UK Parliament constituencies in Wales from 40 to 32, and were used from the 2024 UK election.^[9] While the Senedd is to introduce larger constituencies composed of pairings of the 32 from 2026.

2020 renaming

On 6 May 2020, the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020 came into force, renaming the Assembly constituencies and Assembly electoral regions of the National Assembly for Wales, to the Senedd constituencies and Senedd electoral regions of "Senedd Cymru" or "the Welsh Parliament", known in both Welsh and English as the Senedd.

2024–25 boundary review

The Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024, passed by the Senedd in May 2024,^[10] gave the responsibility for conducting boundary reviews of Senedd constituencies to the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru. The commission would be responsible to conduct reviews for specifically both the 2026 Senedd election and the 2030 Senedd election, as well as regular reviews thereafter.^[11] The 2026 review was time-constricted,^[12] therefore the 2030 review, the first full boundary review in 18 years, would provide the commission with more flexibility.^[13][14]

The Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024 legislated that the 2026 election should use 16 six-member constituencies, replacing the existing 40 constituencies and five regions, with the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru conducting the review.^[15] The law set out that they must be contiguous pairings of the 32 UK Parliament constituencies used in Wales since 2024,^[16] and to only use a single name in both Welsh and English, unless it could be considered unacceptable for a single name.^[17] The review commenced in July 2024, with initial proposals revealed in September 2024,^[16][17] and revised proposals in December 2024. A major change in the revised proposals was the use of mostly Welsh-language names only to meet the condition in law, therefore all (except four) had only one name, its Welsh name.^[18] The decision received support from Cymdeithas yr Iaith, but opposition from Andrew RT Davies, former leader of the Welsh Conservatives.^[18][19] In March 2025, the commission published its final determinations,^[20] for the 16 constituencies (see § Proposed constituencies (2026)). The original initial proposal boundaries were re-adopted, while all constituencies were made to use Welsh-only names, with a reiteration of both support and opposition from Cymdeithas and Davies respectively, as well as consultation respondents.^[13] By law, the Senedd must put these final determinations into effect for the 2026 Senedd election without alteration.^[12]

List of historic constituencies and electoral regions (1999–2026)

Under the Additional Member System in place until May 2026, there were forty single-member constituencies and five four-member regions. The five electoral regions were: Mid and West Wales, North Wales, South Wales Central, South Wales East, and South Wales West; each region roughly contained 500,000 people and each constituency contained a population of around 60,000. The forty constituencies are listed below.^[1] The final election under the Additional Member System was the 2025 Caerphilly by-election and the final general election was the 2021 Senedd election, with boundaries that were also used for the Assembly elections of 2007, 2011, and 2016.

Senedd constituencies were grouped into electoral regions consisting of between seven and nine constituencies. An additional member system was used to elect four additional Members of the Senedd from each region, in addition to the MSs elected by the constituencies. The Electoral Region boundaries were based upon the pre-1999 European Parliament constituencies. At each general election of the Senedd, each elector had two votes, one constituency vote and one regional party-list vote. Each constituency elected one Member by the first past the post (single-member district plurality, SMDP) system, and the additional Senedd seats were filled from regional closed party lists, under the D'Hondt method, with constituency results being taken into account, to produce a degree of proportional representation for each region. Altogether, the sixty Members of the Senedd were elected from the forty constituencies and five electoral regions, creating a Senedd of forty constituency MSs and twenty additional MSs, with every constituent represented by one constituency member and four regional members.

The constituencies were the same as those used for elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom until the 2024 United Kingdom general election but not linked to them. The borders of each constituency were drawn using Local government boundaries, defined in Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 as "the boundaries of counties, county boroughs, electoral divisions, communities and community wards".^[2][21]

2007–2026 constituencies

1999–2007 constituencies

Between the first election in 1999 for the then National Assembly for Wales, to the 2007 election, there were three former constituencies. These constituencies were replaced at the 2007 election, with new boundaries and names.

Three constituency names, Conwy, Caernarfon, and Meirionydd Nant Conwy, became historic, and the new boundaries defined three constituencies with new names: Arfon, Dwyfor Meirionnydd, and Aberconwy. Generally, the new boundaries define each constituency taking into account local government ward boundaries, and define constituencies close to equal in terms of the sizes of their electorates.

Former electoral regions

See also

• Boundary Commission for Wales
• Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru

Notes

1. ^ They are known as Senedd constituencies, and previously alongside Senedd electoral regions in the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020 and revised Government of Wales Act 2006,^[23][24] but may be alternatively titled by Senedd Research,^[22] and English-language news sources as Welsh Parliament constituencies and electoral regions, or Senedd Cymru constituencies and electoral regions. The districts were formerly known as National Assembly for Wales constituencies and electoral regions, or informally, (Welsh) Assembly constituencies and electoral regions from its establishment in 1999 until May 2020, when it was renamed to its current name(s).

References

1. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies and Assembly Electoral Regions (Wales) Order 2006". www.opsi.gov.uk
2. ^ "Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011". legislation.gov.uk. UK Parliament
3. ^ "Government of Wales Act 1998". legislation.gov.uk. UK Parliament
4. ^ "The European Parliamentary Constituencies (Wales) Order 1994". legislation.gov.uk. UK Parliament. 24 February 1994. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
5. ^ The review of parliamentary constituencies in Wales. Senedd.wales: National Assembly for Wales Research Service. 2011.
6. ^ "Parliamentary Debates - Wednesday 11 May 2011". publications.parliament.uk. House of Commons, UK Parliament. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
7. ^ Roberts, Owain (September 2011). "The review of parliamentary constituencies in Wales". National Assembly for Wales
8. ^ "Reshaping the Senedd". www.electoral-reform.org.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
9. ^ "Major changes to cut number of Welsh MPs published". BBC News. 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
10. ^ Mosalski, Ruth (2024-05-08). "The multi-million pound plan to expand the Senedd to 96 MSs has become law". Wales Online. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
11. ^ "Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru [HTML] | GOV.WALES". www.gov.wales. 2024-12-17. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
12. ^ Price, Emily (2025-03-11). "New Senedd 'super constituencies' confirmed". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 2025-03-11.
13. ^ "Senedd expansion: Welsh-only names for all Welsh Parliament seats". BBC News. 2025-03-11. Retrieved 2025-03-11.
14. ^ "Final constituencies created ahead of 2026 Senedd elections". South Wales Argus. 2025-03-11. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
15. ^ "Senedd reform | GOV.WALES". www.gov.wales. 2024-08-21. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
16. ^ "2026 Review: Initial Proposals | DBCC". www.dbcc.gov.wales. 2024-09-03. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
17. ^ "New constituencies for the 2026 Senedd election announced". research.senedd.wales. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
18. ^ "Welsh-only names for most new big Senedd seats revealed". BBC News. 17 December 2024.
19. ^ "Proposed Senedd constituency names divides opinion". ITV News. 17 December 2024.
20. ^ "2026 Review: Final Determinations | DBCC". www.dbcc.gov.wales. 2025-03-11. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
21. ^ "Parliamentary Constituencies and Assembly Electoral Regions (Wales) Order 2006". legislation.gov.uk. UK Parliament. 11 April 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
22. ^ Perks, William. "Data for the Senedd Cymru constituency areas: 2021". gov.wales. Senedd Research. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
23. ^ "Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
24. ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2021.

External links

• List of Members at the Senedd website

1. ^ Consisting of between 7-9 constituencies.