General election in Wales 2021
The general election in Wales 2021 ( English 2021 Senedd election , Welsh Etholiad Senedd Cymru, 2021 ) took place on May 6, 2021. The 60 members of the Welsh Parliament were elected. The Parliament, which was called the National Assembly for Wales between 1999 and 2020, was renamed Senedd Cymru - Welsh Parliament , or Senedd for short , on May 6, 2020 . The general election in Scotland , the election of the Mayor of London and local elections in the United Kingdom also took place on May 6, 2021 .
Electoral system
The mixed-member proportional system was used as the electoral system , a mixed procedure that includes elements of majority voting as well as proportional representation . For this purpose, Wales was divided into 40 constituencies, of which between seven and nine were combined into a total of five electoral regions and the boundaries of which were based on the constituencies for the European elections . The voters had two votes. With they could for a candidate in their constituency decide to victory was enough for the first-past-the-post system , the relative majority . With the other vote, several members of party lists were elected in each of five major constituencies. For conversion into seats mandate was D'Hondt method applied.
Election date
The election took place under the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic . It was possible to vote by post or in person at the polling station. In the latter case, strict hygiene regulations (face mask, hand disinfection) had to be observed. Postal voting documents could be requested until April 20, 2021. The polling stations were open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on election day.
prehistory
Party politics
The last election to the Legislative Assembly of Wales took place on May 5, 2016, a few weeks before the UK's EU membership referendum. In this election, the Labor Party was the strongest party with 34.7% of the vote, but had to accept a significant loss of votes compared to the previous election in 2011 . A Labor minority government was then formed, with Regional Labor Chairman Carwyn Jones as First Minister . The cabinet also included the regional leader of the Liberal Democrats Kirsty Williams as Minister of Education. In April 2018, Jones announced his early resignation as first minister and his retirement from Welsh politics from 2021. His successor as First Minister for Wales was his party colleague Mark Drakeford in December 2018 .
The election to the European Parliament on May 23, 2019, which was shaped entirely by the Brexit debate among the British public, showed a radical shift in the political balance of power in Wales. The newly founded Brexit Party under Nigel Farage became the strongest party with 31% of the votes, followed by Plaid Cymru , which came second for the first time. The Labor Party, which had dominated Wales for a long time, lost almost half of its votes to only 14.8%. Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives followed in fourth and fifth place.
More powers for the Welsh Parliament
On January 31, 2017, the Wales Act 2017 came into force, giving greater powers to the Welsh Parliament and Welsh regional government. Among other things, parliament and government received increased taxation rights and more freedom in financial management. The Minister for Wales Alun Cairns commented on the legislative package by saying that the Welsh Parliament had "matured into a fully-fledged parliament" . On May 6, 2020, the National Assembly changed its name to Senedd Cymru - the Welsh Parliament . The name change, according to a speaker of parliament, reflects the parliament's newly acquired powers.
Campaign issues
As with any regional election in Wales, the issue of regional autonomy was controversial. Plaid Cymru is the only major party seeking full independence from Wales. All the other major parties were in favor of a more or less pronounced regional autonomy within the United Kingdom. In a June 2020 YouGov opinion poll commissioned by Cardiff University and ITV Wales , 25% of respondents are in favor of full independence from Wales, while 54% are against. This was the highest approval of independence ever recorded. However, in the same poll, 25% of respondents were in favor of the complete abolition of the Welsh Parliament (48% opposed). In July 2015, a one-topic party with the programmatic name Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party registered as a political party. In the last Welsh election in 2016, the group won 4.4% of the vote. The party was particularly popular with former UKIP and Brexit party supporters. The declared aim of the party was to turn back devolution in Wales. UKIP regional party leader Neil Hamilton also spoke out in favor of abolishing Welsh regional autonomy.
Parties and candidates
- Welsh politicians
.png)
.jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
Survey history
The diagram below shows the poll history for the constituency vote.
Result
The overall result showed gains in particular from the Conservatives (+ 5 seats) and, to a lesser extent, from Labor (+1 seat) and Plaid Cymru (+ 1 seat). UKIP, which received 13% of the nationwide vote in 2016, fell to 1.6% of the vote and lost all of its seven parliamentary seats. With regard to the constituencies won, there were only changes in two of the 40 constituencies. Labor won the constituency of Rhondda from Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives won the constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire from the Liberal Democrats . The Labor Party, which won half of all 60 Welsh parliamentary seats, can again provide the First Minister in Wales.
Overall result
| General election result in Wales 2021 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Political party | Personalized proportional representation | Overall mandates |
||||||||||||||
| Direct constituency mandates | Region (list mandates) | |||||||||||||||
| Constituency votes |
In % | +/- | Constituency mandates |
+/- | List votes |
In % | +/- | List mandates |
+/- | Overall mandates |
+/- | In % | ||||
| Labor / Llafur | 443.047 | 39.9 | 5.2 | 27 | 401.770 | 36.2 | 4.7 | 3 | 1 | 30th | 1 | 50.0 | ||||
| Conservatives / Ceidwadwyr | 289,802 | 26.1 | 5.0 | 8th | 2 | 278,560 | 25.1 | 6.3 | 8th | 3 | 16 | 5 | 26.7 | |||
| Plaid Cymru | 225,376 | 20.3 | 0.2 | 5 | 1 | 230.161 | 20.7 | 0.1 | 8th | 2 | 13th | 1 | 21.7 | |||
| Liberal Democrats / Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol | 54.202 | 4.9 | 2.8 | 0 | 1 | 48.217 | 4.3 | 2.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.7 | ||||
| Greens / Plaid Werdd | 17,817 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0 | 48.714 | 4.4 | 1.4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | ||||||
| Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party / Plaid Diddymu Cynulliad Cymru | 18,149 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 0 | 41,399 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | ||||||
| UKIP | 8,586 | 0.8 | 11.7 | 0 | 17,341 | 1.6 | 11.4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0.0 | ||||
| Reform UK | 17.405 | 1.6 | New | 0 | New | 11,730 | 1.1 | New | 0 | New | 0 | New | 0.0 | |||
| Propel | 8,864 | 0.8 | New | 0 | New | 9,825 | 0.9 | New | 0 | New | 0 | New | 0.0 | |||
| Gwlad | 2,829 | 0.3 | New | 0 | New | 6,776 | 0.6 | New | 0 | New | 0 | New | 0.0 | |||
| Communist Party of Britain / Plaid Gomiwnyddol Prydain | - | - | - | - | - | 2,837 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | |||||
| Other | 4,589 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0 | 9,856 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | ||||||
| Independent | 21,064 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 0 | 3,709 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | ||||||
| total | 1,111,730 | 100.0% | 40 | 1,110,895 | 100.0% | 20th | 60 | 100.0% | ||||||||
| Number of eligible voters | voter turnout | |
|---|---|---|
| In % | +/- | |
| 2,386,957 | 47 | 1.2 |
Summary of the election results
| Direct constituency mandates | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor / Llafur | 39.9% | |||
| Conservative / Ceidwadwyr | 26.1% | |||
| Plaid Cymru | 20.3% | |||
| Lib Dem / Dem. Rhydd. | 4.9% | |||
| Greens / Plaid Werdd | 1.6% | |||
| Otherwise. | 7.2% | |||
| Region (list mandates) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor / Llafur | 36.2% | |||
| Conservative / Ceidwadwyr | 25.1% | |||
| Plaid Cymru | 20.7% | |||
| Lib Dem / Dem. Rhydd. | 4.3% | |||
| Greens / Plaid Werdd | 4.4% | |||
| Otherwise. | 9.3% | |||
| Parliament seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor / Llafur | 50.0% | |||
| Conservative / Ceidwadwyr | 26.7% | |||
| Plaid Cymru | 21.7% | |||
| Lib Dem / Dem. Rhydd. | 1.7% | |||
| Greens / Plaid Werdd | 0.0% | |||
| Otherwise. | 0.0% | |||
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Welsh assembly renamed Senedd Cymru / Welsh Parliament. BBC News, May 6, 2020, accessed May 4, 2021 .
- ↑ Senedd Election 2021: Everything you need to know. Senedd's website, April 6, 2021, accessed May 4, 2021 (English, Welsh).
- ↑ Voting and COVID-19. The Electoral Commission, April 14, 2021, accessed May 4, 2021 (English, Welsh).
- ↑ Carwyn Jones reappointed first minister after Labor Plaid deal. BBC, May 18, 2016, accessed May 8, 2021 .
- ^ Wales Act 2017. legislation.gov.uk, 2017, accessed May 8, 2021 .
- ^ Welsh Assembly now fully-fledged parliament, Alun Cairns says. BBC News, March 31, 2017, accessed May 8, 2021 .
- ^ Martin Shipton: Quarter of voters in Wales now in favor of Welsh independence. June 6, 2020, accessed May 8, 2021 .
- ^ Welsh election: Abolish party plans to 'turn devolution tide'. BBC News, April 16, 2021, accessed May 8, 2021 .
- ↑ The 23 candidates living outside Wales standing in the Senedd election - including ones from Scotland and the Isle of Man. Nation Cymru, April 13, 2021, accessed May 8, 2021 .
- ↑ Rhondda: Y canlyniadau yn Gymraeg / Labor takes Rhondda from Plaid Cymru. BBC News, accessed May 9, 2021 .
- ^ Brecon & Radnorshire: Conservatives take Liberal Democrats' only seat. BBC News, accessed May 9, 2021 .
- ↑ Welsh election results 2021: Labor set to stay in power. BBC News, May 9, 2021, accessed May 9, 2021 .
- ^ Welsh Parliament election 2021. Retrieved May 8, 2021 (British English).
.svg){kind=small}