The Senedd (Welsh Parliament)
The nutshell
The Senedd is the Welsh Parliament. It makes some of the laws for Wales, such as laws about schools and hospitals, and it meets in Cardiff.
Every fact on this page comes from official guides and non-partisan explainers. Each source tag — like IfG — opens where a fact comes from.
The basics
What the Senedd is
The Senedd is the parliament for Wales. The word Senedd is Welsh for parliament. The Senedd meets in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, and it makes laws for Wales in some areas of life.IfG
What the Senedd decides
The Senedd makes laws in areas that are devolved to Wales. Devolved means power has been passed from the UK Parliament in London to Wales. Devolved areas include health, schools, housing and the environment. Policing and justice are still decided at the UK Parliament.IfG
The people in the Senedd
A person elected to the Senedd is called a Member of the Senedd, or MS for short. At the election in May 2026 the number of Members went up from 60 to 96.HoC The Welsh Government is drawn from the Senedd, and the Senedd checks the work of the Welsh Government.IfG
Who can vote
People aged 16 and over who live in Wales can vote in Senedd elections.EC That is younger than for a UK general election, where the age to vote is 18.
- The Senedd is separate from the Welsh Government. The Senedd makes and checks laws, while the Welsh Government runs services day to day.
- Since the May 2026 election the Senedd has 96 Members, up from 60, according to the House of Commons Library.
- People aged 16 and over who live in Wales can vote in Senedd elections, according to the Electoral Commission.
- The Senedd is not the same as the UK Parliament in London. It makes laws only in areas that are devolved to Wales.
- The Senedd does not decide everything in Wales. Policing and justice stay with the UK Parliament, according to the Institute for Government.
- A Member of the Senedd is not the same as an MP. An MP sits in the UK Parliament, while an MS sits in the Senedd.
The deep end6 min
How the Senedd began
The Senedd started in 1999 as the National Assembly for Wales, after Wales voted for devolution in a referendum in 1997. The House of Commons Library describes Welsh devolution as a process, not an event, because the powers of the body have grown many times since 1999.HoC In 2020 the National Assembly for Wales was renamed Senedd Cymru, the Welsh Parliament.
The 2026 change to a bigger Senedd
Until the 2026 election the Senedd had 60 Members. The House of Commons Library records that at the election on 7 May 2026 the number of Members rose to 96, elected across 16 larger areas called constituencies, with each constituency choosing six Members.HoC The same reform changed the voting system to a closed-list form of proportional representation, where votes are cast for parties and seats are shared out in line with the share of the vote.HoC
What the Senedd controls, and what it does not
The Institute for Government explains that the Senedd makes laws in devolved areas such as health and social care, housing, education, the environment and local government. It also explains that the Senedd cannot make laws on policing and justice, which stay with the UK Parliament.IfG The Welsh Government, led by the First Minister, is drawn from the Senedd and answers to it, in the way that the UK Government answers to the UK Parliament.IfG
Voting in Senedd elections
The Electoral Commission states that people aged 16 and over who live in Wales can vote in Senedd elections. The same rule applies to local council elections in Wales. For a UK general election the minimum voting age stays at 18.EC