THE DEMOCRACY and Boundary Commission Cymru has published Revised Proposals for Wales’ new Senedd constituencies.
The Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act instructs the Commission to make recommendations for 16 constituencies to replace the current 40 constituencies and 5 regions.
These new constituencies will take effect automatically at the 2026 Senedd election, and 6 Members of the Senedd will be elected from each one, using the D’Hondt method currently used for the Senedd’s regional lists.
The Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru has had to create 16 constituencies by pairing Wales’ 32 UK parliamentary constituencies, ensuring that each constituency neighbours the one with which it is paired.
The 16 constituencies proposed by the Commission are:
- Bangor Conwy Môn
- Clwyd
- Fflint Wrecsam
- Gwynedd Maldwyn
- Ceredigion Penfro
- Sir Gâr
- Gorllewin Abertawe Gŵyr (Swansea West Gower)
- De Powys Tawe Nedd (South Powys Tawe Neath)
- Afan Ogwr Rhondda
- Merthyr Cynon Taf
- Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni
- Mynwy Torfaen
- Casnewydd Islwyn
- De-ddwyrain Caerdydd Penarth (Cardiff South-east Penarth)
- Gogledd-orllewin Caerdydd (Cardiff North-west)
- Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg
The Commission has, in response to the Initial Consultation Period, elected to change the proposed configuration of constituencies in the Cardiff area and has made significant changes to its proposed names.
The Commission received over 3,700 responses during the Initial Consultation Period. Many of the responses received expressed general disagreement or agreement with the Initial Proposals, and many discussed matters outside of the scope of the Review.
However, the Commission also received hundreds of valuable suggestions from the public and stakeholders, which helped shape the revised proposals.
The Commission considers that constituencies should only be thought of as “contiguous” or neighbouring if it is possible to travel throughout it without having to leave the constituency.
For example, the Commission did not consider Ynys Môn and Dwyfor Meirionnydd to be a viable proposal since it is not possible to travel from one to the other by road without having to enter Bangor Aberconwy.
The Commission also considered local ties, such as shared history, the Welsh language, and socio-economic considerations in an attempt to propose constituencies which feel as natural as possible to people across Wales.
The Commission does not, however, consider the impact of its proposals on future election results.
Having published its Revised Proposals, the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru has also opened a final 4-week consultation to seek the views of people across Wales.
The Commission is keen to understand whether there is public support for these revised proposals or whether people feel that their parliamentary constituency should instead be paired with a different constituency.
The Commission also looks forward to hearing the public’s views on the much-changed proposed constituency names.
More details of the proposals can be found here.
Commenting on the publication of the Revised Proposals, Chief Executive of the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru, Shereen Williams MBE OStJ said:
“These Revised Proposals represent a significant step on the journey to creating Wales’s new constituencies.
“The Commission would like to thank the thousands of people who responded to the Initial Consultation and invites everyone with a view on these proposals to let the Commission know their thoughts before January 13, 2025.
“The rules in place for this review mean that certain proposals can’t be changed, but following the feedback we received from the public, we have made significant adjustments to the proposed names, as well as changing the configuration of constituencies in the Cardiff area.
“The Commission remains open to making further changes, depending on the representations we receive during this consultation, so we urge everyone to share their views before January 13.”
The Revised Consultation Period closes in January, and the Commission will publish its Final Decisions Report at the end of March 2025.
