List of political parties in Wales
There are a number of political parties registered to the Electoral Commission in Wales. Some of these parties have elected representation in the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; Welsh: Senedd Cymru) and/or in Westminster (UK Parliament) and some have elected representation in one or more of the 22 Welsh local authorities, while others have entirely no elected representation. This Wikipedia page lists all of the above and some relevant Welsh political parties that formerly existed but have since disbanded. The largest political parties typically reside in either the House of Commons or the Senedd, the current largest party in Wales is Welsh Labour, followed closely by the Welsh Conservatives and Plaid Cymru.
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House of Commons/Senedd
House of Commons
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is a legislative body in the United Kingdom and creates primary legislation.[1] There are two chambers within the Parliament of the United Kingdom: the House of Commons (the elected chamber) and the House of Lords. This article focuses on the House of Commons. Three parties have elected representatives in that house (MPs): Welsh Labour, Welsh Conservatives and Plaid Cymru. The constituencies are due to change for the 2024 general election.[2]
Senedd
The Senedd was formed under the Government of Wales Act 1998, by the Labour government, following a referendum in 1997. It was given greater powers under the 2011 Welsh devolution referendum. In 2021, four parties have elected representatives in the Senedd: Welsh Labour, Welsh Conservatives, Plaid Cymru and Welsh Liberal Democrats.
House of Commons/Senedd parties
| Party | Translation | Leader | Political position | Ideology | MSs | MPs | Local government | Membership[lower-alpha 1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welsh Labour[lower-alpha 2] | Welsh: Llafur Cymru | .jpg.webp) |
Mark Drakeford | Centre-left | Social democracy Democratic socialism British unionism |
30 / 60 |
22 / 40 |
524 / 1,254 |
22,000[3] | |
| Welsh Conservatives | Welsh: Ceidwadwyr Cymreig | .jpg.webp) |
Andrew RT Davies | Centre-right | Conservatism Economic liberalism British unionism |
16 / 60 |
14 / 40 |
111 / 1,254 |
Unknown | |
| Plaid Cymru | English: Party of Wales | .jpg.webp) |
Rhun ap Iorwerth | Centre-left to left-wing | Welsh nationalism Welsh independence Democratic socialism Social democracy Environmentalism Regionalism Civic nationalism |
13 / 60 |
4 / 40 |
202 / 1,254 |
10,100[4] | |
| Welsh Liberal Democrats | Welsh: Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru | .jpg.webp) |
Jane Dodds | Centre to centre-left | Liberalism Social liberalism British unionism Pro-Europeanism |
1 / 60 |
0 / 40 |
69 / 1,254 |
3,133[5] | |
Local government
Several parties in Wales have no national representation, but have elected representation at the local government level.
County councils
| Party | Translation | Elected members of local government | Political position | Ideology | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wales Green Party[6] | Welsh: Plaid Werdd Cymru | 8[7][8] | Left-wing | Green politics Progressivism Pro-Europeanism | |
| Llantwit First Independents | Welsh: Annibynwyr Cyntaf Llantwit | 4 (Vale of Glamorgan Council) | N/A | Localism | |
| Uplands Party[9] | Welsh: Plaid Uplands | 4 (Swansea Council) | N/A | Localism | |
| Newport Independents Party | Welsh: Plaid Annibynwyr Casnewydd | 3 (Newport City Council) | N/A | Localism | |
| Propel | 1 (Cardiff Council) | None[10] | Welsh nationalism Welsh independence Localism Sovereignism Anti-nuclearism | ||
| Gwlad | English: Country | 1 (Ceredigion County Council) | Centre-right[11] | Welsh nationalism Welsh independence | |
Community and town councils
| Party | Translation | Elected members of local government | Political position | Ideology | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gwlad | English: Country | 2 | Centre-right[12] | Welsh nationalism Welsh independence | |
Council control
| Council | Control | Web | Total | LAB | PC | CON | LD | GP | Other | Vacant | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blaenau Gwent | LAB | maj | URL | 33 | 22 | 11[w 1] | |||||
| Bridgend | LAB | maj | URL | 51 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 22[w 2] | |||
| Caerphilly | LAB | maj | URL | 69 | 45 | 18 | 6[w 3] | ||||
| Cardiff | LAB | maj | URL | 79 | 55 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 1[w 4] | ||
| Carmarthenshire | PC | maj | URL | 75 | 23 | 38 | 14[w 5] | ||||
| Ceredigion | PC | maj | URL | 38 | 21 | 7 | 10[w 6] | ||||
| Conwy | NOC | IND+PC+LAB | URL | 55 | 11 | 7[w 7] | 10 | 4 | 1 | 22[w 8] | |
| Denbighshire | NOC | LAB+PC | URL | 48 | 19 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 12[w 9] | |
| Flintshire | NOC | LAB min (LD support) | URL | 67 | 31 | 2 | 4[w 10] | 30[w 11] | |||
| Gwynedd | PC | maj | URL | 69 | 1 | 44 | 1 | 23[w 12] | |||
| Isle of Anglesey | PC | maj | URL | 35 | 3 | 21 | 1 | 10[w 13] | |||
| Merthyr Tydfil | NOC | IND+LAB | URL | 30 | 15[w 14] | 15[w 15] | |||||
| Monmouthshire | NOC | LAB min | URL | 46 | 22 | 18 | 1 | 5[w 16] | |||
| Neath Port Talbot | NOC | IND+PC | URL | 58 | 25 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 18[w 17] | ||
| Newport | LAB | maj | URL | 51 | 35 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 7[w 18] | ||
| Pembrokeshire | IND | maj | URL | 60 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 35[w 19] | ||
| Powys | NOC | LD+LAB | URL | 68 | 9[w 20] | 3 | 14 | 24[w 21] | 1 | 17[w 22] | |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf | LAB | maj | URL | 75 | 47 | 17 | 3 | 8[w 23] | |||
| Swansea | LAB | maj | URL | 75 | 45 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 11[w 24] | ||
| Torfaen | LAB | maj | URL | 40 | 30 | 10[w 25] | |||||
| Vale of Glamorgan | NOC | LAB+IND | URL | 54 | 25 | 8 | 13 | 8[w 26] | |||
| Wrexham | NOC | IND+CON | URL | 56 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 23[w 27] | ||
| Total | 1,254 | 523 | 203 | 111 | 69 | 8 | 369 | 1 | |||
Parties with no elected representation
Notable registered parties
Defunct parties
- South Wales Socialist Society (1911–1920) - amalgamated with the Communist Party of Great Britain in the 1920s.
- Communist Party of South Wales and the West of England (1920) - set up by those who opposed amalgamation with the Communist Party of Great Britain
- Welsh Republican Movement (1949–1966) - most members either returned to Plaid Cymru or joined the Labour Party
- Welsh Socialist Republican Movement (1979–1986) - succeeded as a political party in 1986 by Cymru Goch, however it still exists as a publication
- Cymru Goch (1986–2003) - evolved into Forward Wales.
- Democratic Alliance of Wales (1999–2008)
- John Marek Independent Party (2003) - short lived party which became Forward Wales.
- Forward Wales (2003–2010)
- Blaenau Gwent People's Voice Group (2005–2010) - party set-up in Blaenau Gwent. Its leader, Dai Davies, retired from politics and the party disbanded.
- Putting Llanelli First (2011–2016)[20] - Siân Caiach (now a councillor for Gwlad) ran for the party in the Welsh Assembly seat of Llanelli in 2011 and 2016.
- Respect - The Unity Coalition (2004–2016) - a party established by Salma Yaqoob and George Monbiot and built out of the Stop the War Coalition, its most notable candidate was George Galloway
- Welsh Socialist Alliance (1999–2016) an alliance between the Socialist Party and Cymru Goch and some independents, which fell apart when the Socialist Party left the grouping
See also
Notes
- 11 Independents
- 21Independents
- 6 Independents
- 1 Propel
- 14 Independents
- 9 Independents and 1 Gwlad
- 1 ex-Independent
- 23 Independents including 1 ex-Plaid, 2 ex-Conservative
- 12 Independents
- Includes 1 Independent who sits with the Lib Dems Group
- 30 Independent Alliance including Plaid Cymru and Independents
- 23 independents, 6 Llais Gwynedd
- 10 Independents
- 1 ex-Independent
- 15 Independents
- 5 Independents
- 18 Independents leading administration
- 7 Independents, 4 Non aligned & 3 Newport Independents
- 13 Independents, 22 non-aligned
- 1 ex-Conservative
- 1 ex-Conservative
- 30 Independents
- 7 Independents including 1 ex-Lib Dem, 1 Cynon Valley Party
- 11 Independents, 4 non-aligned Uplands Party
- 10 Independents
- 8 dependents, 4 Llantwit Independents and 1 non-aligned in administration with Labour, 4 non-aligned.
- 23 Independents, 21 ruling Independent Group & 2 non-aligned
- Political parties are under no legal obligation to publish membership statistics and there is no uniformly recognised definition of membership.
- Some candidates stand as Labour and Co-operative joint candidates due to an electoral alliance with the Co-operative Party.
References
- "Understanding legislation". Legislation.gov.uk.
- "Major changes to cut number of Welsh MPs published". BBC News. 8 September 2021.
- Williams, Darren (5 June 2021). "WEC Meeting 5 June 2021". Darren Williams.
- "Plaid Cymru see 25% membership boost following Adam Price's leadership victory". Nation.Cymru. Archived from the original on 13 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
- "Jane Dodds is new Welsh Liberal Democrat leader". BBC News. 3 November 2017.
- "View registration - The Electoral Commission". search.electoralcommission.org.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- "Wales Local Elections 2022". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- Mosalski, Ruth; Youle, Richard; O'Neill, Ryan (6 May 2022). "The Green Party gets its first councillors in Cardiff as it grows its representatives across Wales". WalesOnline. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- "View registration - The Electoral Commission". search.electoralcommission.org.uk.
- "Independent AM Neil McEvoy to launch new Welsh National Party". ITV News. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- "Gwlad Gwlad standing in four seats where Plaid Cymru have withdrawn 'to offer people a pro-independence vote'". Nation.Cymru. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- "Gwlad Gwlad standing in four seats where Plaid Cymru have withdrawn 'to offer people a pro-independence vote'". Nation.Cymru. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- "Socialist Party Wales – Socialism In Wales". Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- WalesOnline (11 August 2003). "New Welsh Socialist dawn?". WalesOnline. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- Waugh, Paul (20 September 2019). "Harriet Harman Urged To Pull Out Of Commons Speaker Race By Local Labour Party". Huffpost. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
The motion by Nick Wrack, who was readmitted to Labour after standing against Harman for the left-wing TUSC party four years ago, cites the precedent of Tories warning they would stand a candidate against John Bercow if he stayed on.
- Prest, Victoria (18 April 2015). "Trade Union and Socialist Party (TUSC) to contest eight seats in York council elections". The Press. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
The left-wing party Trade Union and Socialist Party (TUSC) is fielding eight would-be councillors for seats on City of York Council, as well as a parliamentary candidate in York Central.
- Cohen, Tamara (2 June 2017). "Can far-left fringe parties make a difference to Labour's election push?". Sky News. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
Britain's largest far-left party, the Trade Union Socialist Coalition (TUSC), founded by the late Bob Crow, is standing no candidates this year.
- "Former Llan'dod mayor stands for Christian Party in General Election". County Times. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- Barberis, Peter; McHugh, John; Tyldesley, Mike (2000). "Far Left". Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations: Parties, Groups and Movements of the 20th Century. London: A&C Black. p. 145. ISBN 0826458149.
- People First - Gwerin Gyntaf (De-registered 03/11/16), The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
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