Welsh elections 2026: Senedd Cymru (Welsh parliament)

The Senedd Cymru (Welsh parliament) in Cardiff is the devolved legislature of Wales. On 7 May 2026 voters headed to the polls to vote in the seventh Senedd election since devolution commenced in 1999.

What were the results of the 2026 Senedd election? 

On 7 May 2026, the Senedd was elected for the seventh time. Plaid Cymru won 43 seats with 35.4% of the vote, becoming the largest party in the Senedd, but falling short of the 49 seats to win a majority. Reform UK won their first seats in the Senedd, becoming the second largest party with 29.3% of the vote and 34 seats. Labour won nine seats, with Welsh Labour leader and sitting first minister Eluned Morgan losing her seat and the election marking the first time that Labour was not the largest party in the Senedd. The Conservatives won seven seats, the Greens entered the Senedd for the first time winning two seats, and the Liberal Democrats won one seat.

Turnout in the 2026 election was the highest it has been at any Senedd election, reaching 51.6%. This also marks the first time turnout in a Senedd election was over 50%.

How is a new government formed after a Senedd election? 

The Senedd must nominate an MS for appointment as First Minister within 28 days of a Senedd election. Any MS is entitled to stand to become First Minister. If there are two or more nominations, MSs will vote on who they want to be First Minister, who is then formally appointed by the King.  

If no nominations for First Minister are made or if the Senedd is unable to select a new First Minister within 28 days, then the process to hold an ‘extraordinary general election’ is triggered.

After selection, the First Minister will appoint Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers to work in Welsh Government departments. 

Usually, the party that wins the most seats in the Senedd election is expected to lead the Welsh Government. This has been the case throughout the 26 years of devolution.  

Following the election on 7 May 2026, the Senedd reconvened five days later to nominate the presiding officers and first minister. There were three nominees for first minister: Rhun ap Iorwerth (leader of Plaid Cymru), Dan Thomas (leader of Reform UK) and Darren Millar (leader of Welsh Conservatives). MSs then voted for their preferred candidate, with Rhun ap Iorwerth elected as first minister with 45 votes drawn from Plaid MSs and the two Green MSs in the Senedd. Dan Thomas received 34 votes and Darren Millar received seven votes. The nine Welsh Labour MSs and one Welsh Liberal Democrat MS abstained from the vote.

Rhun ap Iorwerth leads a minority Plaid Cymru government in the Senedd. This means he requires the support or abstention of other parties on an ad hoc basis to pass legislation and budgets. If he chose to, he could also seek to form a formal coalition or a looser support agreement such as ‘confidence and supply’.

Why was the Senedd created?

Senedd Cymru was originally created as the National Assembly for Wales in 1999 as part of the Labour UK government’s plans to devolve power to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Devolution to Wales was intended to allow for decisions on key services to be taken by “people directly elected by, and accountable to, Welsh voters”, and “above all else… provide a clear and distinctive voice for Wales”. ⁷ https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/rp97-129/

The creation of the Welsh assembly was approved in a referendum in 1997 (in parallel with a vote in Scotland) with a slim majority of 50.3% of votes cast in its favour, on a turnout of 51.3%. Previous proposals for a Welsh assembly had been defeated in a 1979 referendum, with 79.7% of votes cast against the proposals.

In 2017, the assembly was also given the power to change its own name. In November 2019, this power was exercised, as the assembly voted to change its name to bilingual Senedd Cymru or Welsh Parliament. This came into effect on 6 May 2020. 

What powers does the Senedd have?

The Senedd has power to make laws over many key areas of Welsh life. These include most aspects of health and social care, housing, education, local transport, economic development, social services, language and culture, the environment, and local government.

When initially created, the Senedd was able only to pass secondary legislation in devolved areas. The Government of Wales Act 2006 gave the Senedd limited powers to pass primary legislation. Following a referendum in 2011, the Welsh electorate voted in favour of extending primary law-making powers to all areas where the Senedd has responsibility. Since 2011 it has been able to pass primary legislation in the form of Acts of Senedd Cymru.

Since 2014, it has also held some tax-raising powers, including control of local taxes, taxes on property transactions (stamp duty land tax) and landfill, and the power to vary income tax rates in Wales. 

The Senedd has fewer powers than the Northern Ireland assembly and Scottish parliament. In particular, it has no power over policing and justice, which remain the responsibility of the UK government. 

Watch our video on the 2026 devolved elections

How is the Welsh government funded?

The majority of the Welsh government’s funding comes from an annual block grant from the UK government calculated using the Barnett formula.

This system increases or decreases the funding provided by the Treasury to the Welsh government based on changes to spending in England on functions that are devolved, taking into account population share.

Wales receives 105% of any spending increases in England, on a per-capita basis. So for example, if spending on health care in England increases by £100m, the Welsh government funding would rise by £5.9m, since Wales’s population is 5.6% of England’s, and this is then multiplied by 105%. However, under the terms of the formula, the Welsh government need does not need also to spend this extra sum on health care.

The Welsh government also receives income from devolved taxes and a share of Welsh income tax revenue. 

How is the Senedd elected?

From 1999 until 2021, the Senedd was elected using the Additional Member System, in which voters cast one ballot for an individual constituency candidate and a second for a regional party list. 

Following the passage of the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024, the 2026 election was held under a closed list proportional system. Under this system, the number of Members of the Senedd (MSs) increased from 60 to 96, and the number of constituencies decreased from 40 to 16, with each new constituency electing six MSs.  ⁸ Welsh Government, Welsh Elections (Coronavirus) Bill, https://senedd.wales/media/kukp15ds/pri-ld14059-em-e.pdf   

Under the new system, votes are cast for a political party rather than an individual, unless there is an independent candidate. Political parties can list up to eight candidates for each constituency and independent candidates can also stand for election. If a seat becomes vacant during a Senedd term, it will be filled by the next candidate on the party list or, if the outgoing MS is independent, it will be left vacant until the next general election. This means that by-elections will not occur under the new system. Seats are allocated based on the share of votes each party or independent candidate gets.  

The D’Hondt formula is used to make sure seats are allocated to closely reflect their share of the vote. For example, if a party wins 50% of the vote in a constituency, they will likely win three of the six seats in that constituency. The top three people on the party’s list for that constituency will then be elected to those seats. Independent candidates can gain election if they win enough votes in a constituency to be allocated a seat. Since there are six seats in each constituency, an independent candidate requires approximately 16% of the vote to win a seat.  

How do Senedd elections work?

Under the closed list proportional system, which candidates are selected depends to a large extent on the order of the party list, which is decided by the party. Voters are unable to express preference about a particular candidate, which reduces voter choice and can be argued to reduce the direct accountability between voters and MSs.

What has happened at previous Senedd elections?

Until 2026, Welsh Labour had been the largest party in the Senedd since it was created, winning between 26 and 30 seats at every election between 1999 and 2021, and being in government either in coalition or alone throughout that era. In 2026, it fell to just 9 seats in the expanded Senedd, winning 11% of the vote. In 2026, Plaid Cymru had its best election performance since devolution began, becoming the largest party in the Senedd with 43 seats, while Reform won 34 seats.