Cardiff Bay - the glass facade of the Welsh Parliament building stands in contrast to the Victorian Gothic Pierhead building, with the golden shell of the Wales Millenium Centre rising behind them both. It's an iconic image of Wales that reflects both its industrial heritage and hopes for the future. But what exactly goes on inside the Welsh Parliament, and why does a small country that isn't even an independent state even need a parliament in the first place? Let's find out.
Devolution in Wales
Centuries of Welsh independence ended in 1284, when the Statute of Rhuddlan effectively made Wales a part of the English realm, which it remained for over 800 years. In the late 19th century, with a general rise in national consciousness across Europe, the idea of Wales as a distinct nation with its own culture and traditions - and perhaps its own destiny - started to emerge. During this period, Wales gained new national institutions such as the University of Wales and the National Library of Wales and national teams in sports like rugby and football.
Devolution means handing down or "devolving" certain legal powers to regional bodies. Devolved policy areas can include education or healthcare, whilst the power to determine other policy areas, such as foreign policy and military defence, remain with Westminster and are refered to as "reserved" policy areas.
In 1949, Prime Minister Clement Attlee created the Council for Wales and Monmouthshire to advise the government on Welsh political interests and report on the effects of legislation in the country. The council was abolished when the Welsh Office was established in 1964 to overlook the implementation of government policy, and was led by a Secretary of State for Wales, who would become a member of the British Cabinet at Westminster. However, neither the Welsh Secretary of State nor the members of the Welsh office were ever elected by the people of Wales.
In 1969, Harold Wilson launched the Royal Commission on the Constitution to explore possible changes to the constitution of the United Kingdom. The commission concluded its investigation in 1973, and recommended devolution for Wales and Scotland and the formation of locally elected assemblies. However, the Welsh public overwhelmingly voted against forming a Welsh Assembly in the 1979 Welsh Devolution referendum, with only 12% voting in favour.
The Devolution Debate
Devolution may have obvious benefits. It allows local politicians, who have a better understanding of issues in their region, to deal with local problems. Furthermore, it has allowed countries such as Wales and Scotland to have their own voice in international organisations such as the European Union. Devolved governments also open the door for innovative policies and new perspectives on matters.
However, devolution also involves the additional cost of running government structures, inclusing salaries, increased infrastructure costs and the cost of implementing local policies. Naturally many both inside and outside of Wales will see this as a waste of money. They may ask whether the funds involved in maintaining devolved structures might not be better spent elsewhere. There is also the question of equal representation. In the UK, Welsh politicians can be elected as MPs in Westminster and are permitted to vote on English legislation, but Westminster MPs don't get to vote on Welsh legislation in the Senedd. Some consider this unfair.
Devolution also creates space for disagreement or tension between governments, especially where national and devolved governments are run by different political parties. This was particularly in evidence during the Covid-19 pandemic when the Welsh Labour Government in Wales favoured stricter measures against the virus, whilst the Conservative government in Westminster preferred to impose fewer restrictions. This resulted in sometimes very different rules on either side of the Welsh border, as well as political disunity during a national health crisis.
As a result, many people in the UK do not support devolution. They see it as replicating existing structures at great expense, a waste of tax-payers' money and problematic for national unity in the UK. In fact, a single issue political party named "Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party" exists in Wales, which aims to give full authority back to Westminster.
Fig. 1 - Abolish the Welsh Assembly
It wasn't until 1997 that the newly-elected Labour government held a second referendum, with 50.3% of the Welsh electorate voting in favour of devolution. In the wake of this referendum, the Government of Wales Act 1998 formally established the Welsh Assembly, abolished the Welsh office and transferred the responsibilities of the Welsh Secretary of State to the Assembly.
The 2006 Government of Wales Act created a Welsh Government separate from the Assembly. The act also gave provisions for the Assembly to gain further legislative power from Westminster, regarding devolved affairs. In 2011, a further referendum was held, in which 63.49% voted in favour of strengthening the Assembly's lawmaking powers. This was followed by further Acts (Wales Act 2014, Wales Act 2017), which increased the legislature's power.
These acts established a 'reserved matters' model for the Welsh legislature, bringing it closer to the powers of the Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly. The reserved matters model creates an unambiguous distinction between 'reserved' policy areas, which remain with the UK government and 'devolved' policy areas (such as healthcare, and language policy), which are the responsibility of the Welsh legislature and executive.
Fig. 2 - Debating chamber in the Senedd
Senedd Cymru
In 2016, members of the Welsh Assembly voted to change the name of the Welsh legislature to reflect its status as a national parliament. Initially, the 2019 Senedd and Elections (Wales) Bill proposed 'Senedd' - a Welsh word cognate with 'Senate' - as the official name for the institution. The bill was later amended, however, to include an official name in English too - the Welsh Parliament.
When the Bill received royal assent in 2020, some protested the inclusion of an English name for the legislature alongside the Welsh, arguing that an opportunity was missed to raise the profile of the Welsh language and increase the use of Welsh in every day life - both important commitments of the Welsh Government.
Although both the Welsh (Senedd Cymru) and English (Welsh Parliament) names are used officially, in daily speech, the Welsh legislature is usually refered to as the Senedd. Importantly, members are called Members of the Senedd in English and Aelodau o'r Senedd in Welsh. The Senedd is a fully bilingual institution, conducting all of its business in English and Welsh and providing translation or interpretation wherever necessary.
Welsh Parliament Functions
The Commission on Devolution in Wales was set up by the UK Government in 2011, to review and construct a long-term devolution plan for Wales. The Commission's findings led to further devolution of powers to the Senedd and a shift to a 'Reserved Powers' mode of devolution. This meant that the Senned would have legislative authority in all matters, bar reserved areas in which the UK Parliament would continue to have full control, such as international diplomacy and defence. Today, the Senedd has three main functions:
Making Laws: The Senedd has had the authority to create and debate Welsh laws since 2011 in all areas that concern Wales exclusively. These areas include health, public administration, tourism and social welfare. New bills go through multiple stages of examination and revisions by the Senedd Committee and the Senedd as a whole before a vote takes place on the final wording of the law. Once the bill is finalised, it must gain Royal Assent. If it's successful, the Bill will become an Act of Senedd, enforced as Welsh law.
Scrutinising the Welsh Government (Llywodraeth Cymru): The Senedd oversees Welsh Government spending and Senedd Committees observe the government's work, carrying out inquiries where necessary. The Senedd also has the authority to question Government ministers on various issues and Ministers are obliged to respond to Senedd queries. Often these debates and inquiries are televised for the sake of transparency.
Welsh Tax: There are three types of tax that the Welsh Government is responsible for raising: part of Income-tax, land transaction tax and landfills disposable tax. The Senedd must approve the Welsh Government's changes to tax in these areas, monitor how tax revenue is spent and scrutinise budgets and government borrowing.
Welsh Parliament Elections
Senedd elections are held every five years. Currently, there are 60 members of the Senedd (MSs) - Aelodau o'r Senedd (ASau) in Welsh. Forty of these members represent constituencies that are geographically similar to those of the UK parliament. The remaining 20 members represent the five Senedd electoral regions of Wales. Senedd candidates cannot run for constituency and regional seats simultaneously. All MSs - whether constituency or regional - have equal powers, ensuring equal representation for the five regions and 40 constituencies.
The 40 constituency members are selected through an electoral system called first-past-the-post, which simply means that the person with the most votes for each seat wins. The 20 regional members are selected through the Additional Member System. Each party presents a list of candidates, and the voter chooses the one they want to represent their region. The number of votes each party receives is then divided by one plus the number of MSs that party has elected through the constituency system in that region. The candidate at the top of the list of the party with the highest number after this calculation is carried out is elected to the Senedd, and this process is repeated until all four seats in each region are filled. This system aims to provide a form of proportional representation, ensuring that the number of MSs that each party has truly reflects that party's electoral support in the country as a whole.
Voters therefore get two votes - one for a regional seat from the political party of their choice, and one for their constituency seat, and each voter is therefore represented by five Members of Senedd - One for their constituency and four for their region. Notably, 16-year-olds and many non-UK nationals who are residents in Wales are eligible to vote in Senedd elections.
In June 2022, a majority of MSs voted in favour of increasing the number of members from 60 to 96 and there are proposals to scrap the first-past-the-post system for Senedd elections.
Welsh Parliament Parties
At present, there are four political parties with representatives in the Senedd. The last election was held in 2021.
Welsh Labour: Welsh Labour has been the leading party since the creation of the Welsh Assembly. Currently, they hold 27 constituency seats and 3 regional seats.
Welsh Conservatives: The Welsh Conservatives hold 8 constituencies and 8 regional seats. They form the main opposition in the Senedd and are led by Andrew RT Davies.
Plaid Cymru: Plaid Cymru are a centre-left to left-wing nationalist party who are devoted to full Welsh Independence from the United Kingdom. The party has 5 constituency seats and 8 regional seats in the Senned.
Welsh Liberal Democrats: The Liberal Democrats only hold 1 regional seat.
There are other political parties in Wales which have no members elected to the Senned, such as the Abolish party, the Welsh Green Party and UKIP.
Fig. 3 - Seats in the Senedd 2021. Green - Plaid Cymru. Yellow - Liberal Democrats. Red - Labour Party. Blue - Conservative Party.
Welsh Parliament Leader
As previously mentioned, Welsh Labour has been the leading party since the Welsh Assembly began. Their leader and the First Minister of the Senedd is Rt Hon Mark Drakeford, elected in December 2018.
Fig. 4 - Mark Drakeford meeting King Charles III and the Camilla, Queen Consort.
Welsh Parliament - Key takeaways
The Welsh legislature is formally known as Senedd Cymru in Welsh and the Welsh Parliament in English.
The Senedd has 60 members - 40 constituency seats and 20 regional seats.
The Senedd was established as the Welsh Assembly in 1999, and gained its parliamentary structure through the Government of Wales Act 2006.
The Wales Act 2017 gave the Senedd the authority to make laws in all matters except those reserved to the UK parliament.
The Welsh Parliament has three main functions: lawmaking, overseeing the work of the Welsh Government, and scrutinising taxation.
The Welsh Labour Party currently holds a majority in the Senedd and is headed by Mark Drakeford, who also serves as First Minister - or Prifweinidog - of Wales.
References
- Fig. 2: debating chamber in the Senedd (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Senedd_2021.svg), by Keith Edkins (https://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/11413), Licensed by CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/).
- Fig. 4: Mark Drakeford meeting King Charles and Queen Consort (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HRH_The_Prince_of_Wales_and_HRH_The_Duchess_of_Cornwall_are_welcomed_by_Mark_Drakeford,_MS_First_Minister_of_Wales_(52353736242).jpg), by Senedd Cymru / Welsh Parliament from Wales (https://www.flickr.com/people/39069511@N03), Licensed by CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/).
Explanations 
Exams 
Magazine 
