Latest news with #ShereenWilliams
Sky News
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Senedd 2026: Row over Welsh-only names as new constituencies announced
The new constituencies for the Senedd have been given Welsh-only names, in a move criticised by the former leader of the Welsh Conservatives. The number of Senedd constituencies has been slashed just as the number of members in the Welsh parliament is set to increase. Voters in Wales will head to the polls next May, but instead of the usual 40 constituencies, the country will now be split into 16 larger areas. The constituencies were confirmed on Monday, with all 16 given Welsh-only names, after a consultation process came to an end. But former leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies, said many of his constituents who expressed concerns they would be "disenfranchised" by the proposed names had been "ignored". "Wales is bilingual and constituency names should be in both languages," he added. The Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru said it assigned names to each constituency which it believed to be "acceptable and recognisable for people across Wales". The consultation process received more responses than ever before "by a considerable margin", according to the commission. Shereen Williams MBE, chief executive of the commission, said the changes were "very significant". Ms Williams acknowledged that the debate surrounding the names had been "robust, but very constructive". She thanked those members of the public who had responded to the consultation, which had been "significantly strengthened due to the public's involvement". What else is set to change? The announcement comes as the number of Senedd members is set to rise by more than 50%, rising from 60 to 96 at the next election. The way politicians get elected to Cardiff Bay will also change. Up until now, the Senedd was made up of 40 members elected through first past the post - the system used in Westminster - and a further 20 elected to represent five larger regions using the D'Hondt list method. Last year, the number of Welsh constituencies in a general election was cut from 40 to 32 - and those 32 have been paired to form the new Senedd constituencies. Six members will be elected from a list of candidates for each of the 16 constituencies, marking the biggest change in the way Senedd members are elected since the parliament's inception more than a quarter of a century ago.
BBC News
11-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Senedd expansion: Welsh-only names for all new Welsh Parliament seats
Senedd constituencies will have Welsh-language only names from next year, under final plans from the Democracy and Boundary Senedd leader Andrew RT is opposing the Welsh-only names, saying "Wales is bilingual and constituency names should be in both languages". The proposals also see changes to the Cardiff constituencies, as part of wider reforms as the number of politicians increases from 60 to 96 at the 2026 Senedd members will be elected to represent each of 16 new constituencies. The voting system is also changing to become fully Commission published its last set of proposals in that occasion four of the 16 proposed constituencies had bilingual names: Swansea West Gower, South Powys Tawe Neath, Cardiff South-east Penarth and Cardiff will now be called only by their Welsh name: Gŵyr Abertawe, Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd, Caerdydd Penarth and Caerdydd Ffynnon 16 constituencies being fought at the next election will be formed by pairing the 32 constituencies used at the last UK parliamentary election. What's happening in Cardiff? Under the Commission's initial proposals published in September Cardiff North was Paired with Cardiff East and Cardiff West was paired with Cardiff South and in December the plans were changed to pair Cardiff North with Cardiff West and Cardiff East with Cardiff South and Commission has now decided to revert to the original plans, forming two new constituencies called Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf and Caerdydd the law for the new Senedd each constituency had to be given have a single name "unless the commission considers this would be unacceptable".Having now given all 16 constituencies Welsh-only names, the commission says it believes the names assigned are "acceptable and recognisable for people across Wales". On Sunday, commission chief executive Shereen Williams told the BBC Sunday Supplement programme that previous proposals to give most seats Welsh-only names had prompted "pushback" during a recent of the comments received reflected "anti-Welsh language sentiments", she said, which she found "incredibly disappointing".Announcing the final plans on Tuesday, Williams said: "The debate over proposed pairs and names has been robust, but very constructive, and the constituencies recommended by the Commission have been significantly strengthened due to the public's involvement in the process."A further review of the constituencies will take place ahead of the 2030 Senedd election. The former leader of the Conservatives in the Senedd has expressed his opposition to the Welsh-only RT Davies said on X (formally known as Twitter): "Many constituents wrote to the Boundary Commission, complaining that the proposed Welsh-language only constituency names disenfranchised them."They were ignored."Wales is bilingual and constituency names should be in both languages."
