Welsh Government publishes plans for Senedd reform

The Welsh Government has published plans to make the the Senedd more modern and effective as part of the Co-operation Agreement with Plaid Cymru.

The Bill aims to create a modern Senedd, which is better able to represent people in Wales, with increased capacity to scrutinise, make laws, and hold the government to account.

It also builds on the recommendations made by the Special Purpose Committee on Senedd Reform, which were endorsed by a majority of Senedd Members in June 2022.

If the bill is supported by Senedd Members, the changes would be in place for the 2026 Senedd.

The Senedd Reform Bill proposes that the Senedd will have 96 Members elected using closed proportional lists. The seats would be allocated to parties using the D’Hondt formula.

The 32 new UK Parliament constituencies will be paired to create 16 Senedd constituencies for the 2026 Senedd election. Each constituency would then elect six Members. Senedd elections will be held every four years from 2026 onwards.

There would also be an increase in the maximum number of Welsh Ministers which can be appointed from 12 to 17 (plus the First Minister and the Counsel General) with an additional power to enable a further increase in the number to 18 or 19 with the approval of the Senedd.

All candidates for future Senedd elections must also live in Wales.

Counsel General Mick Antoniw said: "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a modern Senedd, which truly reflects Wales, and to strengthen our democracy.

"We are creating a more effective Senedd, with a greater ability and capacity to hold the Welsh Government to account. This Bill will help ensure the Senedd also reflects the huge changes to Wales’ devolution settlement since 1999, including law-making and tax-raising powers.

"Wales is the most under-represented country in the UK – the Senedd has the least Members of any devolved Parliament in the country and the recent reduction to UK Parliamentary seats is the most significant change in a century."

Leader of Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth, said: "Twenty six years ago to the day when the people of Wales voted Yes for devolution, we are taking another historic step to strengthen and empower our democracy.

"A stronger, more representative Senedd, elected through a proportional system, will be better equipped to continue to make a difference to the people of Wales. It will ensure fairness, provide better scrutiny and help all of us realise our ambition for Wales and our maturing democracy.

"Once passed, the Senedd Reform Bill will also place Welsh democracy on firmer foundations and bring us closer to the size of the legislatures in Scotland and the north of Ireland. This stands in stark contrast to the way in which Wales’s representation on a UK level at Westminster is being weakened."

Image: Senedd Cymru / Welsh Parliament from Wales, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons