2026 Senedd election

An election for the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; Welsh: Senedd Cymru) was held on 7 May 2026, to elect all 96 members to the Senedd. It was the seventh devolved general election since the Senedd (formerly the National Assembly for Wales) was established in 1999. It was the first election following numerous reforms: an increase in the size of the Senedd from 60 members to 96, the adoption of party-list proportional representation, the reduction of the number of constituencies to sixteen, and the shortening of its term from five years to four. The election was held on the same day as the local elections in England and Wales and the 2026 Scottish Parliament election. Welsh Labour lost government and its status as the largest party for the first time since devolution began in 1999, ending a winning streak that had lasted since the 1922 United Kingdom general election and representing a historic realignment of Welsh politics. Plaid Cymru emerged as the largest party for the first time with 43 seats by making massive breakthroughs in traditional southern Labour heartlands, while Reform UK secured second place with 34 seats. Labour was reduced to third place with a historic low of 9 seats. The Welsh Conservatives and the Wales Green Party won 7 and 2 seats respectively, with the Greens entering the Senedd for the first time. With her failure to secure a seat in the constituency of Ceredigion Penfro, First Minister Eluned Morgan became the first leader of a government in the UK to lose their seat while in office. With the Scottish Parliament election being won by the Scottish National Party and Sinn Féin being in charge in Northern Ireland, all three devolved nations were led by pro-independence parties for the first time. Turnout was 51 %, the highest ever for a Welsh devolved election.