This Thursday, people in Wales will take to the polls to vote in the 2026 Senedd election.
Letter boxes across the land have swallowed reams of political party pamphlets (21 have landed on my mat at last count) and that’s not including the materials about the election itself. What I’m getting at is that there is an overwhelming amount of information in circulation and it can be tricky to figure out what’s what.
So, here’s a few handy facts to help clear the election haze:
The Senedd election – things to know
There are changes to the Senedd from this election:
- More Members: From the election in May 2026, the Senedd will have 96 Members instead of 60.
- New voting system: Everyone 16+ will now have one vote, choosing a political party or independent candidate in a system called ‘closed proportional list system’ (or proportional representation) instead of ‘first past the post’.
- New constituencies: Wales will have 16 constituencies. Each constituency will elect six Members.
- New rules: Anyone standing for election must live in Wales.
*Note – Splott and Adamsdown are in different constituencies (more on this below)
How are constituencies changing?
Wales will have 16 constituencies instead of 40.
Each of these new constituencies will have six Members, making a total of 96 Members elected to the Senedd.
The Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru created the new areas by pairing the 32 UK Parliament constituencies for Wales. They also considered local boundaries, road and transport links, and natural features like rivers and mountains.
Splott (including Tremorfa and Pengam Green) is in Caerdydd Penarth and Adamsdown is in Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf.
Senedd constituencies for the 2026 election:
- Bangor Conwy Môn
- Clwyd
- Fflint Wrecsam
- Gwynedd Maldwyn
- Ceredigion Penfro
- Sir Gaerfyrddin
- Gŵyr Abertawe
- Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd
- Afan Ogwr Rhondda
- Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr
- Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni
- Sir Fynwy Torfaen
- Casnewydd Islwyn
- Caerdydd Penarth
- Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf
- Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg
You can find your new constituency by entering your postcode into our constituency finder map.
The Senedd is not Welsh Government
So what is the Senedd, exactly, and how does it differ to Welsh Government?
Just like across the UK we have a parliament and a government, here in Wales we have a ‘Senedd’ (parliament) and a ‘Welsh Government’.
Parliament and Government have different roles and responsibilities, as demonstrated in this handy table (taken from the Senedd website):
| Senedd (Welsh Parliament) | Welsh Government |
| Questions the Welsh Government, and is where laws are made. | Runs the country, and decides how to manage public services. |
| All 60* Members of the Senedd (MSs) elected by the people of Wales, chaired by the Llywydd (speaker). *96 after May 7th 2026 | Led by the First Minister and ministers in charge of areas such as education, health and transport. |
| Debates and agrees laws. | Proposes laws on issues devolved to Wales, such as the NHS, education and the environment. |
| Checks on how the Welsh Government spends its money. | Decides how to spends its £26 billion budget, including public services. |
| Agrees certain taxes | Proposes Welsh taxes |
| Debates issues important to the people of Wales | Promotes Wales and the Welsh language at home and overseas. |
So, the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) is the law making body (legislature), made up of all elected Members of the Senedd (MSs) and includes government ministers, backbench MSs and opposition parties. It debates and passes Welsh laws and scrutinises the government.
The Welsh Government is the executive, made up of the largest party, or a duo or trio of parties known as a ‘coalition government’ which is then able to command the most support in the Senedd. It sets policy, proposes budgets, runs devolved public services and implements laws passed by the Senedd.
The Senedd votes in a First Minister and the First Minister picks their ministers to form the government (just like the Prime Minister does).
What powers does the Senedd have?
This great infographic from Richard Clarke on Facebook shows what we have control of here in Wales and what remains with Westminster:
As Richard says in his post:
“Here is a summary of the powers devolved to Wales and those retained by the UK Government.
These devolved powers are what you are voting for on 7 May. When you cast your vote, you are choosing which party will manage these specific areas of Welsh life for the next five years.”
So, on to the Senedd and Splott
First let’s look at who we can vote for and then where we can vote.
The candidates standing in Splott (in Party alphabetical order):
Conservative Party candidates
1. Calum Davies
2. James Robert Hamblin
3. Dominic Owen Davies
4. Judith Elizabeth Child
5. Archie Draycott
6. Eddy Oko-Jaja
Green Party candidates
1. Anthony Slaughter
2. Tessa Marshall
3. Rowan Stanger
4. Tavgar Bulbas
5. Max O’Hara
6. Iwan Sinclair
Labour Party candidates
1. Huw Thomas
2. Ruba Sivagnanam
3. Peter Evan Bradbury
4. Steve Brooks
5. Mutale Merrill
6. Kanya Singh
7. Laura Rochefort
Liberal Democrat candidates
1. Cadan Dyfynnog Hedd ap Tomos2. Irfan Latif
3. Elinor Claire Dixon4. Barry Charles Southwell5. Chris Cogger
6. Ashley Kalum Wood
Plaid Cymru candidates
1. Anna Heledd Brychan
2. Kiera Duncan Marshall
3. Leticia Andrea Gonzalez Estigarribia
4. Malcolm Phillips
6. Matthew James Kenneth Hawkins
7. Tomos James Scott Stokes
Reform UK candidates
1. Joseph Martin
2. Mark John Reckless
3. Robert Ian Thomas
4. Rachel Nugent Finn
5. Paul Campbell
6. Ruth Elizabeth Hancock
Other candidates
Heritage Party – Rhiannon Morrissey
Britian’s Communist Party – Robert David Griffiths
Propel – 1. Neil McEvoy, 2. Ceri McEvoy
Independent – Rhys Ab Owen
The list is longer than you might think (each party can nominate up to eight candidates per constituency).
Here’s a great website detailing all the individuals and parties standing, with links to their manifestos, policies etc: Who can I vote for?
Where can we vote?
Just type your postcode in to this handy search engine and it’ll present you with your nearest polling station.
How does the voting work?
On Thursday, if you choose to vote, you will select the party or individual of your choice on the list. Just one choice, just one vote. The party with the most votes in the first round of counting will pick the name on the top of their list and that person will be elected. Then there is another round of counting and the party with the second most votes picks the name on the top of their list to be elected. If a party wins two seats in a constituency, the top two names on their list will be elected, and so on.
This is the proportional representation system, also known as the D’Hondt formula.
This is the best illustration of the new voting system that I’ve seen (thank you kindly Gordon Wells on Facebook):
Do I need ID to vote?
No, you don’t need ID or a polling card to vote in the Senedd election (but you do need to be registered to vote. Unfortunately, the deadline for registration has passed).
And that brings us to the end of ‘Splott and the Senedd election’.
I hope that it’s been useful.
See you at the polls!