Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament

Senedd Cymru (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈsɛnɛð ˈkəm.rɨ]), or the Welsh Parliament in English,[4] (commonly referred to as simply "the Senedd" /ˈsɛnɛð/ in both English and Welsh)[5] is the democratically elected, devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. It represents the interests of the people of Wales, makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Government.[6] As a bilingual institution, both Welsh and English are the official languages of its business.[7] From its creation in 1999 until May 2020, the Senedd was known as the National Assembly for Wales (Welsh: Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru).[5]

Senedd Cymru
Welsh Parliament
Fifth Senedd
Type
Type
Leadership
Elin Jones
since 11 May 2016
Rebecca Evans
since 13 December 2018
Mark Drakeford
since 13 December 2018
Andrew RT Davies
since 24 January 2021
Structure
Seats60
Political groups
Government (31)
  Labour (28)
  Liberal Democrats (1)
  Independent (2)[lower-alpha 1][1][2]
Opposition (29)
  Conservative (11)[3]
  Plaid Cymru (10)
  Independent Alliance for Reform (3)
  Abolish the Welsh Assembly (2)
  UKIP (1)
  Propel (1)
  Independent (1)
Elections
Additional member system
Last election
5 May 2016
Next election
due on 6 May 2021
Meeting place
Senedd, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.
Website
senedd.wales

The Senedd comprises 60 members who are known as Members of the Senedd (Welsh: Aelodau o'r Senedd),[8] abbreviated as "MS" (Welsh: AS).[9] Since 2011, members are elected for a five-year term of office under an additional member system, in which 40 MSs represent smaller geographical divisions known as "constituencies" and are elected by first-past-the-post voting, and 20 MSs represent five "electoral regions" using the D'Hondt method of proportional representation. Typically, the largest party in the Senedd forms the Welsh Government.

A National Assembly for Wales was created by the Government of Wales Act 1998, upon the result of the 1997 referendum. The National Assembly for Wales initially had no powers to initiate primary legislation. Limited law-making powers were gained through the Government of Wales Act 2006. Its primary law-making powers were enhanced following a Yes vote in the referendum on 3 March 2011, meaning that the UK Parliament or the Secretary of State for Wales were no longer consulted when passing acts of the National Assembly for Wales related to the 20 devolved areas.[10] These powers were further extended by the Wales Act 2014 and Wales Act 2017. The Assembly then renamed itself, effective as of May 2020, to its current name with the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020. Devolved areas include health, education, economic development, transport, the environment, agriculture, local government and some taxes.

History

Road to devolution
Wales
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Wales
Welsh Government
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
Wales and the United Kingdom
HM Government
UK Parliament
Law and Justice
Administrative divisions
 Wales portal

An appointed Council for Wales and Monmouthshire was established in 1949 to "ensure the government is adequately informed of the impact of government activities on the general life of the people of Wales". The council had 27 members nominated by local authorities in Wales, the University of Wales, National Eisteddfod Council and the Welsh Tourist Board. A post of Minister of Welsh Affairs was created in 1951 and the post of Secretary of State for Wales and the Welsh Office were established in 1964 leading to the abolition of the Council for Wales. The establishment of the Welsh Office effectively created the basis for the territorial governance of Wales.[11] The Royal Commission on the Constitution (the Kilbrandon Commission) was set up in 1969 by Harold Wilson's Labour Government to investigate the possibility of devolution for Scotland and Wales.[12] Its recommendations formed the basis of the 1974 White Paper Democracy and Devolution: proposals for Scotland and Wales,[12] which proposed the creation of a Welsh Assembly. However, Welsh voters rejected the proposals in a referendum held in 1979.[12][13] After the 1997 general election, the new Labour Government argued that an Assembly would be more democratically accountable than the Welsh Office. For eleven years prior to 1997 Wales had been represented in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom by a Secretary of State who did not represent a Welsh constituency at Westminster.[14] A referendum was held in Wales on 18 September 1997 in which voters approved the creation of the National Assembly for Wales with a total of 559,419 votes, or 50.3% of the vote.[15]

The following year the Government of Wales Act was passed by the United Kingdom parliament, establishing the Assembly. On 1 July 1999 the powers of the Secretary of State for Wales were transferred to the Assembly and the Welsh Office ceased to exist.[16]

In July 2002, the Welsh Government established an independent commission, with Lord Richard (former leader of the House of Lords) as chair, to review the powers and electoral arrangements of the National Assembly to ensure that it is able to operate in the best interests of the people of Wales.[17] The Richard Commission reported in March 2004. It recommended that the National Assembly should have powers to legislate in certain areas, whilst others would remain the preserve of Westminster.[17] It also recommended changing the electoral system to the single transferable vote (STV) which would produce greater proportionality.[17]

In response, the British government, in its Better Governance for Wales White Paper, published on 15 June 2005, proposed a more permissive law-making system for the Welsh Assembly based on the use of Parliamentary Orders in Council.[18][19] In so doing, the Government rejected many of the cross party Richard Commission's recommendations. This has attracted criticism from opposition parties and others.

Enhanced powers: The Government of Wales Act 2006
Main article: Government of Wales Act 2006

The Government of Wales Act 2006 received Royal Assent on 25 July 2006. It conferred on the Assembly legislative powers similar to other devolved legislatures through the ability to pass Assembly Measures concerning matters that are devolved. Requests for further legislative powers made through legislative competence requests were subject to the veto of the Secretary of State for Wales, House of Commons or House of Lords.

The Act reformed the assembly to a parliamentary-type structure, establishing the Welsh Government as an entity separate from, but accountable to the National Assembly. It enables the Assembly to legislate within its devolved fields.

The Act also reforms the Assembly's electoral system. It prevents individuals from standing as candidates in both constituency and regional seats. This aspect of the act was subject to a great deal of criticism, most notably from the Electoral Commission.

The Act was heavily criticised. Plaid Cymru, the Official Opposition in the National Assembly from 1999–2007, attacked it for not delivering a fully-fledged parliament. Many commentators have also criticised the Labour Party's allegedly partisan attempt to alter the electoral system. By preventing regional Members from standing in constituency seats the party has been accused of changing the rules to protect constituency representatives. Labour had 29 members in the Assembly at the time, all of whom held constituency seats.

The changes to the Assembly's powers were commenced on 4 May 2007, after the election.[20]

Following a referendum on 3 March 2011, the Welsh Assembly gained direct law making powers, without the need to consult Westminster.

Reserved powers model: The Wales Act 2017

The Conservative-Liberal coalition government created the Commission on Devolution in Wales (also known as Silk Commission), composed of members nominated by the 4 parties represented in the Welsh Assembly and several leading legal and political experts, to "create a lasting devolution settlement for Wales". Following the first set of recommendations by the Commission, the UK government announced in November 2013 that some borrowing powers are to be devolved to the Assembly along with control of landfill tax and stamp duty. Additionally the Wales Act 2014 provides for a referendum to be held on the Assembly's ability to set a degree of income tax,[21] though there is a proposal for the requirement for a referendum to be removed.

Both the UK and Welsh governments supported the Silk Commission (Part 2) proposal to move to a "reserved powers" model of devolution (similar to that of the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly) where the UK government would have specific "reserved" powers and the Welsh Assembly would have control of all other matters.[22][23] This replaced the previous model where certain powers were "conferred" and all others were assumed to be powers of the UK national government. Since the passing of the Wales Act 2017, the power model in Wales has been in line with that of Scotland, being a reserved matter model.[24]

The Wales Act 2017, based on the second set of recommendations of the Silk Commission, proposed devolving further areas of government, including some relating to water, marine affairs (ports, harbours, conservation), energy (subsidies, petroleum extraction, construction of smaller energy-generating facilities, etc.), rail franchising and road travel.[25]

Name change

In July 2016, Assembly members unanimously agreed that the name of the Assembly should reflect its constitutional status as a national parliament.[26] The Assembly Commission ran a public consultation on the proposal, which showed that 61% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the Assembly should change its name.[27] In 2018, the commission announced its intention to introduce legislation to change the name of the Assembly. Later that year, the Llywydd – the Assembly's presiding officer – wrote to all Assembly Members explaining that the name change proposed in the Bill would be the monolingual name “Senedd”.[28] In 2019, the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Bill, favouring the name "Senedd", was introduced on behalf of the Assembly Commission. Following support of a subsequent amendment to the Bill which favoured a bilingual name for the institution, the Bill was passed by the Assembly on 27 November 2019 and was given Royal Assent on 15 January 2020.[29][30] The Act changed the name of the Assembly to “Senedd Cymru” or “the Welsh Parliament”. Its guidance states that the institution will be commonly known as the Senedd in both languages. The name change came into effect on 6 May 2020. Members of the renamed body are known as Members of the Senedd (MSs), or Aelodau o'r Senedd (AS) in Welsh.[31][32]

Buildings
The Senedd building

Senedd building
Main article: Senedd building

The debating chamber in Cardiff Bay, the Senedd (Senate), was designed by the Richard Rogers Partnership, and built by Taylor Woodrow, with environmental, mechanical, electrical and plumbing design by BDSP Partnership. It uses traditional Welsh materials, such as slate and Welsh oak, in its construction, and the design is based around the concepts of openness and transparency. The timber ceiling and centre funnel, manufactured and installed by BCL Timber Projects (sub-contracted by Taylor Woodrow) is made from Canadian sourced Western Red Cedar.

The Senedd houses the debating chamber (Welsh: Siambr) and Committee Rooms. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on St David's Day, 1 March 2006.[33]

The Senedd is designed to be environmentally friendly: it uses an Earth Heat Exchange system for heating; rainwater is collected from the roof and used for flushing toilets and cleaning windows, and the roof features a wind cowl which funnels natural light and air into the debating chamber below.[34]

Telecasting

Screenshot of the front page of senedd.tv in 2009

The building houses the debating chamber and committee rooms for the Senedd. When the Senedd building opened on 1 March 2006, there was regular screening of live proceedings from the National Assembly for Wales on S4C2 and also on internet television.[35] Coverage of the S4C2 screenings were on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 9:00 am 6:00 pm when the Senedd was sitting.[36] In addition, limited screens was shown on the BBC Two Wales programme "am.pm", including First Minister's Questions.[37] These were decommissioned after S4C2 switched its scheduling to children programs and because of budget cuts.[38] Internet television screenings are now shown on the Senedd's own website called Senedd.tv, which screens approximately 35 hours of content each week in English and Welsh. The service began 15 April 2008.[39] Key events such as First Minister's Questions are shown live and recorded on BBC Parliament on television and on iPlayer. Also on BBC Parliament some proceedings are shown as highlights of the week on the program The Week in Parliament.

Tŷ Hywel and Pierhead Building
The Welsh Parliament estate in Cardiff Bay
Tŷ Hywel
The Pierhead Building
Main articles: Tŷ Hywel and Pierhead Building

The debating chamber was initially based in Tŷ Hywel, next to the site of the present building. The offices of Members are still in this building which is connected to the Senedd by a skyway. The Senedd Commission is also responsible for the Pierhead Building, which is the location of "The Assembly at the Pierhead" exhibition, and is the Visitor and Education Centre for the Senedd as well as housing a small gift shop. The exhibition, currently still in the process of being updated following the 2016 National Assembly for Wales election, provides visitors with information on who's who, what's happening and how the Senedd works.

North Wales Office
North Wales Office

The North Wales Information Centre is located in Prince's Park on Prince's Drive, Colwyn Bay. The office is open to the public to access information about the Senedd. The office is open on weekdays between 9:00 and 17:00.[40]

Officials

Elected officials
Main article: Llywydd of the Senedd
The Senedd's ceremonial mace sits in front of the Presiding Officer's desk in the Senedd chamber.

After each election, the Senedd elects one Member of the Senedd to serve as Llywydd (Presiding Officer) of the Senedd, and another to serve as Dirprwy Lywydd (Deputy Presiding Officer). Elin Jones, Plaid Cymru MS, has been Llywydd since 2016, having taken over from Rosemary Butler. The Llywydd also acts as Chair of the Senedd Commission. Both the Llywydd and the Dirprwy Lywydd typically don't vote in simple-majority votes.

Permanent officials

The permanent administrative and support staff of the Senedd are employed by the Senedd Commission. They are not civil servants, although they enjoy similar terms and conditions of service to members of the UK Civil Service.

Powers and status
See also: 2011 Welsh devolution referendum
The Royal Badge of Wales appears on Acts of the Senedd[41]

The Senedd consists of 60 elected members. They use the title Member of the Senedd (MS) or Aelod o'r Senedd (AS).[42] The executive arm of the Senedd, the Welsh Government, has been a Labour administration since its inception in 1999. Currently it is led by First Minister, Mark Drakeford, since December 2018.[43] The government between 2007 and 2011, had been a coalition between Labour, led by First Minister Carwyn Jones and Plaid Cymru, led by Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones; since 2016, Labour has been in coalition with the Liberal Democrats and an independent member.[44][45] The executive and civil servants are mainly based in Cardiff's Cathays Park while the MSs, the Senedd Commission and Ministerial support staff are based in Cardiff Bay, where a new £67 million building, the Senedd, has been built.[46][47][48]

One important feature of the National Assembly until 2007 was that there was no legal or constitutional separation of the legislative and executive functions, since it was a single corporate entity. Compared with other parliamentary systems, and arrangements for devolution in other countries of the UK, this was unusual. In practice, however, there was separation of functions, and the terms "Assembly" and "Assembly Parliamentary Service" came into use to distinguish between the two arms. The Government of Wales Act 2006 regularised the separation when it came into effect following the 2007 Assembly Election.

Initially, the Assembly did not have primary legislative or fiscal powers, as these powers were reserved by Westminster. The Assembly did have powers to pass secondary legislation in devolved areas. Sometimes secondary legislation could be used to amend primary legislation, but the scope of this was very limited. For example, the first Government of Wales Act gave the Assembly power to amend primary legislation relating to the merger of certain public bodies. However, most secondary powers were conferred on the executive by primary legislation to give the executive (i.e. Ministers) more powers, and the Assembly had wider legislative powers than appearances might suggest. For example, the Assembly delayed local elections due to be held in 2003 for a year by use of secondary powers, so that they would not clash with Assembly elections. In 2001 the UK parliament used primary legislation to delay for one month local elections in England during the Foot and Mouth Disease epidemic.

The Assembly gained limited primary legislative powers following the 2007 election and the passage of the Government of Wales Act 2006. These laws are known as Assembly Measures and can be enacted in specific fields and matters within the legislative competency of the Assembly. New matters and fields can be devolved by Acts of the UK Parliament or by LCOs approved by Parliament.

Until 2015 the Assembly had no tax-varying powers, however it could influence the rate of Council Tax set by local authorities, which are part-funded by a grant from the Welsh government.[49] It also has some discretion over charges for government services. Notable examples in which this discretion has been used to create significant differences from other areas in the UK are:

  1. Charges for NHS prescriptions in Wales – these have now been abolished.[50]
  2. Charges for University Tuition – are different for Welsh resident students studying at Welsh Universities, compared with students from or studying elsewhere in the UK.[51]
  3. Charging for Residential Care – In Wales there is a flat rate of contribution towards the cost of nursing care (roughly comparable to the highest level of English Contribution) for those who require residential care.[52]

This means in reality that there is a wider definition of "nursing care" than in England and therefore less dependence on means testing in Wales than in England, so that more people are entitled to higher levels of state assistance. These variations in the levels of charges may be viewed as de facto tax varying powers.

This model of more limited legislative powers created in 1999 was partly because Wales has had the same legal system as England since 1536 (though a different court system until 1830), when it was merged with England. Ireland and Scotland were never merged with England, and so always retained some differences in their legal systems. The Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly both have deeper and wider powers.

The Assembly inherited the powers and budget of the Secretary of State for Wales and most of the functions of the Welsh Office. It has power to vary laws passed by Westminster using secondary legislation.

Following a referendum on 4 March 2011, the Welsh Assembly gained direct law-making powers (without the need to consult Westminster). On 3 July 2012, the Welsh Assembly passed its first Act, the Local Government Byelaws (Wales) Act.[53]

The Wales Act 2014 and Wales Act 2017 devolved the following taxes to the Welsh Assembly:

  • Non-domestic rates (business rates) – from 1 April 2015
  • Land Transaction Tax (LTT) – from 1 April 2018
  • Landfill Disposal Tax (LDT) – from 1 April 2018
  • Welsh rate of Income Tax (WRIT) – from 1 April 2019

Powers of the Senedd

The Senedd has the competence to pass bills for Acts of the Senedd in all areas which are not explicitly reserved to Westminster, these 'reserved matters' are outlined in schedule 7A of the Government of Wales Act 2006.[54]

This means the Senedd has powers over areas such as:

Reserved matters include subjects such as:

  • Foreign affairs
  • Police and justice
  • Currency
  • Most benefits
  • Most taxes

Members, constituencies, and electoral system

Under mixed-member proportional representation, a type of Additional Member System,[55][56] forty of the MSs are elected from single-member constituencies on a plurality voting system (or first past the post) basis, the constituencies being equivalent to those used for the House of Commons and twenty MSs are elected from regional closed lists using an alternative party vote.[57] There are five regions: Mid and West Wales, North Wales, South Wales Central, South Wales East and South Wales West (these are the same as the pre 1999 European Parliament constituencies for Wales), each of which returns four members.[57] The additional members produce a degree of proportionality within each region.[57] Whereas voters can choose any regional party list irrespective of their party vote in the constituency election, list MSs are not elected independently of the constituency element; rather, elected constituency MSs are deemed to be pre-elected list representatives for the purposes of calculating remainders in the D'Hondt method.[57] Overall proportionality is limited by the low proportion of list members (33% of the Senedd compared with 43% in the Scottish Parliament and 50% in the German Bundestag) and the regionalisation of the list element.[58] Consequently, the Senedd as a whole has a greater degree of proportionality (based on proportions in the list elections) than the plurality voting system used for British parliamentary elections, but still deviates somewhat from proportionality.[58] The single transferable vote system had been considered for the Senedd by the Labour Party as early as 1995–96, but according to the evidence given to the Richard Commission by Ron Davies, a former Welsh Secretary,

Had we done that of course we would have had to have had a Boundary Commission and that process would have taken forever and a day and that would have frustrated our overall political timetable. So we had to settle on the existing constituency arrangements, parliamentary constituencies and European Constituencies.[58]

In April 2020 the Senedd became the first legislature in the UK to meet over the internet. Due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, it held First Minister's Questions using Zoom videotelephony software and the session was subsequently broadcast by Senedd.tv.[59]

Elections

There have been five elections to the Assembly, in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2016. The 2016 election was delayed from 2015 as the UK general election was held in 2015.[60][61]

The next Senedd election is due to be held on Thursday 6 May 2021.

Summary
Assembly/
Parliament		YearTurnoutSeatsGovernments
Welsh
Labour		Plaid
Cymru		Conser-
vative		Lib
Dems		UKIPOthers
1997 50%Devolution referendum
1st1999 46%281796–– Michael (Labour minority)
Interim Morgan (Labour minority)
Morgan I (Labour – LD)
2nd2003 38%301211601 (JMIP) Morgan II (Labour minority)
3rd2007 44%261512601 (BGPVG) Morgan III (Labour minority)
Morgan IV (Labour – Plaid)
Jones I (Labour – Plaid)
2011 36%Devolution referendum
4th2011 42%30111450– Jones II (Labour minority)
5th2016 45%29121117– Jones III (Labour–LD minority, Lib Dem coalition)
Drakeford (Labour–LD minority)

Last election
 
2016 Welsh Assembly election
Parties Additional member system Total seats
Constituency Region
Votes % +/− Seats +/− Votes % +/− Seats +/− Total +/− %
Labour 353,866 34.7 −7.6 27 −1 319,196 31.5 −5.4 2 0 29 −1 48.3
Plaid Cymru 209,376 20.5 +1.3 6 +1 211,548 20.8 +3.0 6 0 12 +1 20.0
Conservative 215,597 21.1 −3.9 6 0 190,846 18.8 −3.7 5 −3 11 -3 18.3
UKIP 127,038 12.5 +12.5 0 0 132,138 13.0 +8.5 7 +7 7 +7 11.7
Liberal Democrats 78,165 7.7 −2.9 1 0 65,504 6.5 −1.6 0 −4 1 -4 1.7
Green 25,202 2.5 +2.3 0 0 30,211 3.0 −0.5 0 0 0 0 0.0
Independent 7,032 0.7 −0.6 0 0 1,577 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
Abolish the Welsh Assembly 44,286 4.4 N/A 0 0 0 0 0.0
Monster Raving Loony 5,743 0.6 +0.4 0 0 0 0 0.0
Trade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts 2,040 0.2 +0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0
Welsh Communist Party 2,452 0.2 +0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0
Others 3,107 0.3 −1.1 0 0 9,202 0.9 −5.0 0 0 0 0 0.0

Current composition
Party After the
2016 election		 Current
Labour 29 28
Plaid Cymru 12 10
Conservative 11 11
UK Independence Party 7 1
Liberal Democrats 1 1
AWAP N/A 2
Propel Wales N/A 1
Independent Group for Reform N/A 3
Independents 0 3[lower-alpha 1]
Jones/Drakeford governments 30 31[lower-alpha 2]

    Government formation

    The May 2016 election saw the biggest ever change in the Assembly's composition. Labour dropped from 30 to 29 seats, and Plaid Cymru moved from 11 to 12 seats. The Conservatives lost 3 seats, moving from 14 seats to 11, while the Liberal Democrats dropped from 5 to 1 seat. UKIP, who had not previously had representation, gained seven AMs.

    In the initial ballot for First Minister, Plaid Cymru's Leanne Wood and Labour's Carwyn Jones each gained 29 votes; a week of talks were then held. A document was produced after Plaid Cymru–Labour talks entitled "Moving Wales Forward", which detailed policy concessions in exchange for allowing Carwyn Jones to become First Minister. Labour appointed Kirsty Williams as Education Secretary, so that the minority government was a coalition between Welsh Labour and the Welsh Liberal Democrats. Plaid Cymru, the Conservatives and UKIP formed opposition groups.

    Changes since the election
    Date Member Reason for
    change    		 Original
    designation    		 Constituency/Region New
    designation    		 Notes
    17 August 2016 Nathan Gill CD UKIP North Wales Independent Left the Assembly group.[62] He remained a member of the party and its leader in Wales, until Neil Hamilton was made Wales leader in September 2016.[63]
    14 October 2016 Dafydd Elis-Thomas CD Plaid Cymru Dwyfor Meirionnydd Independent Quit the Plaid Cymru group on 14 October 2016. As a result of the defection, Leanne Wood lost the title of leader of the opposition. Two months later, he pledged to back the Welsh Labour-led Government, giving the new government an overall majority in the Welsh Assembly.[64][65]
    19 March 2018 Neil McEvoy Suspended Plaid Cymru South Wales Central Independent Was suspended by the Plaid Cymru group after a tribunal found him guilty of bullying in his other role as a councillor for Cardiff. He was later expelled from Plaid Cymru.[66] In February 2020 he announced that he was forming a new political party, the Welsh National Party, and that he had registered the name with the Electoral Commission. The launch of the party was planned for April 2020.[67][68]
    6 April 2017 Mark Reckless CD UKIP South Wales East Conservative Upon leaving, he said, "I leave UKIP positively, having achieved our joint aim, a successful referendum to leave the EU".[69][70]
    3 November 2017 Carl Sargeant Suspended Labour Alyn and Deeside Independent Sargeant was suspended from Welsh Labour following allegations about his personal conduct.[71]
    7 November 2017 Carl Sargeant Death Independent Alyn and Deeside Independent On 7 November 2017, Sargeant was found dead.[72] A by-election was held in his former constituency of Alyn and Deeside on 6 February 2018 to choose a successor; this was won by the Labour candidate, his son, Jack.[73]
    27 December 2017 Nathan Gill Resigned Independent North Wales Independent On 27 December 2017 it was announced that he had resigned as an AM.[74] As 3rd on UKIP's list for the North Wales region, Mandy Jones was sworn in as a Member on 29 December 2017.[75] On 9 January UKIP Wales announced that she would not be joining the UKIP group in the Assembly, due to employing members of other parties in her office.[76]
    25 July 2018 Simon Thomas Resigned Plaid Cymru Mid and West Wales Plaid Cymru Thomas resigned following his arrest for possession of indecent images.[77] Helen Mary Jones replaced Thomas as a Member in August 2018.[78]
    12 September 2018 Caroline Jones CD UKIP South Wales West Brexit Party Resigned as a member of UKIP and from UKIP's group on 12 September 2018.[79]
    20 November 2018 Jenny Rathbone Suspended Labour Cardiff Central Independent Suspended over remarks about Jewish people.[80] She was later re-admitted.[81]
    9 January 2019 Re-admitted Independent Cardiff Central Labour
    11 January 2019 Steffan Lewis Death Plaid Cymru South Wales East Plaid Cymru Died of bowel cancer on 11 January 2019 and was replaced by Delyth Jewell.[82]
    26 March 2019 Michelle Brown CD UKIP North Wales Independent Left the UKIP group in March 2019, to sit as an independent.[83]
    14 April 2019 Mark Reckless CD Conservative South Wales East Independent On 14 April 2019, Reckless left the Conservative Party Group over the party's failure to deliver Brexit. He then sat as an independent member.[84]
    15 May 2019 Mark Reckless CD Independent South Wales East Brexit Party Reckless joined the new Brexit Party group in May 2019.[85]
    10 November 2019 Gareth Bennett CD UKIP South Wales Central Independent Left the UKIP group in November 2019 to sit as an independent, leaving Neil Hamilton as the party's last remaining member on the Assembly.[86]
    2 January 2020 Nick Ramsay Suspended Conservative Monmouth Independent Arrested on 1 January 2020 and suspended from the Conservative group the following day.[87] He was later readmitted.
    16 June 2020 Mohammad Asghar Death Conservative South Wales East Conservative Died on 16 June 2020 and was replaced by Laura Ann Jones.[88]
    24 June 2020 Gareth Bennett CD Independent South Wales Central Abolish the Welsh Assembly Joined the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party on 24 June 2020.[89]
    15 July 2020 Nick Ramsay Re-admitted Independent Monmouth Conservative Readmitted having been arrested on 1 January 2020 and suspended from the Conservative group the following day.[90]
    18 August 2020 Caroline Jones CD Brexit Party South Wales West Independent Left Brexit Party and sits as Independent member from 18 August 2020 due to the newly adopted anti-devolution stance the Party had adopted.[91]
    16 October 2020 Mandy Jones CD Brexit Party North Wales Independent Jones and Rowlands started a new independent group in the Senedd, Independent Alliance for Reform with Caroline Jones, focusing on reform rather than abolition.[92]
    16 October 2020 David Rowlands CD Brexit Party South Wales East Independent
    19 October 2020 Mark Reckless CD Brexit Party South Wales East Abolish the Welsh Assembly Joined the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party on 19 October 2020.[93]
    19 January 2021 Alun Davies Suspended Labour Blaenau Gwent Independent Suspended pending investigation after allegedly being involved in alcohol drinking on the Senedd estate, that could have broken COVID restrictions.[94]

    CD=Changed designation

    See also

    Notes
    1. Dafydd Elis-Thomas and Alun Davies are independent members who support the government. The other independent member sit with the opposition. Elis-Thomas is also a Deputy Minister for the Welsh Government.
    2. The government reached a 31-seat majority following the defection of Dafydd Elis-Thomas, elected for Plaid Cymru.

    References
    1. "Welsh Government – Ministers". 3 November 2017 – via www.gov.wales.
    2. https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2021-01-19/investigation-senedd-members-held-social-gathering-in-parliament-in-alleged-breach-of-covid-rules
    3. "Siambr Seating Plan". National Assembly for Wales.
    4. "Senedd Cymru and Welsh Parliament names become law". senedd.wales. 6 May 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
    5. "Name Change Information". senedd.wales. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
    6. "What is the role of the Senedd?". Retrieved 13 May 2020.
    7. Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament. National Assembly for Wales (Official Languages) Act 2012 as amended (see also enacted form), from legislation.gov.uk.
    8. "Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020". Legislation.gov.uk. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
    9. "Senedd and Elections (Wales) Bill" (PDF). senedd.wales.
    10. "Wales says Yes in referendum vote". BBC News. 4 March 2011.
    11. The road to the Welsh Assembly from BBC Wales History website. Retrieved 23 August 2006.
    12. Devolution in the UK: Department for Constitutional Affairs. UK State website. Retrieved 9 July 2005.
    13. The 1979 Referendums: BBC website. Retrieved 9 July 2006.
    14. Evidence to Richards Commission Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine of Cllr Russell Goodway. 10 July 2003. Retrieved 9 July 2006.
    15. Politics 97 by Joshua Rozenberg: BBC website. Retrieved 9 July 2006.
    16. Key Events in the Development of the National Assembly for Wales: First Assembly, 1999–2003 (PDF), National Assembly for Wales, p. 15, retrieved 1 July 2019
    17. The Richard Commission. Archived Richard Commission Website, includes copy of Commission report. Archived 10 April 2010.
    18. Better Governance for Wales White Paper, Archived February 2006. Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Wales in June 2005. Downloadable PDF. Retrieved 9 December 2005.
    19. Electoral Reform for Wales Archived 8 December 2004 at the Wayback Machine. Electoral Reform Society response to rejection of Richard Commission recommendations. Retrieved 9 December 2005.
    20. Assembly powers bill becomes law: BBC News. 25 July 2006. Retrieved 15 September 2006.
    21. "Wales offered tax raising powers". BBC News. 1 November 2013.
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