Global Information2021 Senedd election information
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All 60 seats to the Senedd 31 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 46.6%  1.2% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| This article is part of a series within the Politics of the United Kingdom on the |
| Politics of Wales |
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The 2021 Senedd election took place on Thursday 6 May 2021[1] to elect 60 members to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; Welsh: Senedd Cymru). It was the sixth devolved general election since the Senedd (formerly the National Assembly for Wales) was established in 1999. The election was held alongside the Scottish Parliament election, English local elections, London Assembly and mayoral election and the Hartlepool by-election.
It was the first election in which 16- and 17-year-olds and legally resident foreign nationals were allowed to vote in Wales, the largest extension of the franchise in Wales since 1969. Both changes were a result of the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020.[2] It was also the first election for the legislature under its new name – 'Senedd Cymru' or 'the Welsh Parliament' – and thus this election may be called the 2021 Welsh Parliament election,[3][4] or 2021 Senedd Cymru election,[5][6] in preference over the shorter name.
Five parties had Members of the Senedd (MSs, formerly Assembly Members – AMs) elected at the previous election: Welsh Labour, the Welsh Conservatives, Plaid Cymru, the UK Independence Party (UKIP), and the Welsh Liberal Democrats. Seven political parties were represented in the Senedd prior to the election. These are the five aforementioned parties and two parties that gained MSs who were elected for – and moved from – other political parties. The Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party gained two MSs who were elected for UKIP in 2016, and Propel (previously the Welsh Nation Party) gained an MS elected for Plaid Cymru in 2016.
The governing Labour Party's share of the constituency vote increased by over 5%, and the regional vote by over 4%, with thirty Labour MSs elected accounting for exactly half of the sixty seats, one more than in 2016 but one short of an overall majority and remaining as the largest party. The Conservatives became the Senedd's second-largest party and the official opposition to the Welsh Government with sixteen MSs elected, five more than their 2016 result. This result is the best that the Conservatives managed to achieve since the Senedd was established. Plaid Cymru slipped down to third place with thirteen MSs elected, one more than in 2016. Coalition partner, the Liberal Democrats lost their single constituency seat from 2016, but gained a regional list seat, keeping their total of one seat, the same as in 2016. UKIP received no seats, down from their seven in the 2016 election. This included seats later transferred to Abolish the Welsh Assembly, who also received no seats.
Voter turnout was 46.6%, a record for a Senedd election.[7][8][9]
- ^ "Wales Bill (Dates)" (PDF). publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- ^ "16 and 17-year olds get right to vote - a historic day for democracy in Wales". senedd.wales. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ Voce, Antonio; Leach, Anna; Clarke, Seán; Kommenda, Niko (6 May 2021). "2021 election: latest results from Scottish, Welsh and local votes". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ^ "Welsh Parliament election 2021". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ^ "Senedd Cymru Elections - Ceredigion County Council". www.ceredigion.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ "Senedd Cymru Elections". www.carmarthenshire.gov.wales. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ Grey, Jack (16 May 2021). "Welsh election: Votes low compared to Westminster and Scotland". BBC News. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
- ^ Clark, D. (9 July 2021). "Welsh Parliament (Senedd Cymru) turnout rate 2021". Statista. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
- ^ Morgan, Lucy; Thomas, Gareth; Davies, Owain; Wilkes, Joe (18 May 2021). "Election 2021: how many people voted?". senedd.wales. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ "Welsh Parliament election 2021". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2021.