| Member of theSenedd | |
|---|---|
| Aelod o'r Senedd (Welsh) | |
since 2021 election | |
| Type | Member of Parliament |
| Abbreviation | MS (plural: MSs); (Welsh:AS, plural:ASau) |
| Member of | theSenedd |
| Residence | Senedd building |
| Seat | List of constituencies and electoral regions |
| Term length | 5 years |
| Constituting instrument | Government of Wales Act 1998 |
| Inaugural holder | 1st National Assembly |
| Formation | 1999 |
| Unofficial names | Member of the Welsh Parliament; Welsh Parliament Member; Assembly Member (AM; 1999—2020) |
| Salary | £67,920 |
Amember of the Senedd (MS;plural:MSs;Welsh:aelod o'r Senedd;AS, plural:ASau), also known as amember of the Welsh Parliament,[a] is a representative elected to theSenedd (Welsh Parliament;Welsh:Senedd Cymru). There are sixty members, with forty members chosen to represent individualSenedd constituencies, and twenty to represent the fiveelectoral regions of the Senedd inWales.
Each person in Wales is represented by five MSs: one for their local constituency (encompassing their local area where they reside), and another four covering their electoral region (a large grouping of constituencies). Wales's five electoral regions areMid and West Wales,North Wales,South Wales Central,South Wales East andSouth Wales West.[1]
A holder of this office was formerly known as anassembly member (AM; plural: AMs;Welsh:aelodau'r cynulliad;AC, plural:ACau), under the legislature's former name, theNational Assembly for Wales, from itsinception in 1999 until2020 when it adopted its current names, Welsh Parliament, andSenedd Cymru, simply referred to as Senedd in bothEnglish andWelsh.[2][3]
Since 2011, members are elected for a five-yearterm of office under anadditional member system, in which 40 MSs represent smaller geographical divisions known as"constituencies" and are elected byfirst-past-the-post voting, and 20 MSs representfive "electoral regions" using theD'Hondt method ofproportional representation. Typically, the largest party holding the largest number of MSs in the Senedd forms the Welsh Government, and in the event of not securing a majority of MSs, the largest party has first rights to begin coalition talks with other smaller parties. Prior to 2011, they held four-year terms, with some MSs calling for a return of four-year terms from the current five.[4] From the next Senedd election, due in 2026, the size of the Senedd will increase to 96.[5][6]
MSs are elected in one of two ways:[7]
Forty areelected as constituency MSs and twenty are elected as additional members, four from each of five regional groups ofconstituencies. This additional member system produces a form ofproportional representation for each region.
All MSs positions become simultaneously vacant forelections held on a five-year cycle. If avacancy arises at another time, due todeath orresignation, it may be filled in one of two ways, depending on whether thevacancy is for afirst-past-the-postconstituency MS or for an additional-member MS.
A constituency vacancy may be filled by aby-election. An additional member vacancy may be filled by the next available candidate on the relevant party list.
Holders of this office were first called an "Assembly Member" (Welsh:Aelod Cynulliad), abbreviated to "AM" in English (plural: AMs; or in Welsh:AC, plural:ACau), under the legislature's then name, theNational Assembly for Wales, from itsinception in 1999.[2][3]
In June 2018, theAssembly Commission held a public consultation into a potential name change, with the commission favouring the title "Welsh Parliament Member", abbreviated to "WPM", in line with the existing name.[8] The public consultation showed the most supported option was "Member of the Welsh Parliament" (MWP) at 30%, followed by "Member of the Senedd" (MS) on 28.4%, and the commission's preferred option on 11.1%.[9] "Member of the Welsh Parliament", abbreviated to MWP, raised concerns from some AMs, over potential ridicle. Their concerns were that the abbreviation "MWP" was too close to Welsh words "twp" ('daft') and "pwp" ('poo'), or sounding similar to a Welsh pronunciation of "muppet".[8]Elin Jones,Presiding Officer of National Assembly for Wales, called for the legislature to be called just the "Senedd", leading to members being called a "Member of the Senedd" as a way to address the concerns. Although this raised its own concerns that the corresponding Welsh name "Aelod o'r Senedd" would have the same Welsh abbreviation as "Aelodau Seneddol" forMembers of Parliament to theUK Parliament.[10]
In 2020, the legislature was renamed following the ratification of theSenedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020, which renamed the legislature as the "Welsh Parliament" in English, and "Senedd Cymru" in Welsh.[2][3] Holders of the office would instead be called a "Member of the Senedd", abbreviated to "MS", or in Welsh,Aelod o'r Senedd (AS).[11] While "Member(s) of the Welsh Parliament" has also been used.[12][13][14]
