Politics of Wales - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Politics in Wales forms a distinctive polity

Polity

Polity is a form of government Aristotle developed in his search for a government that could be most easily incorporated and used by the largest amount of people groups, or states...

in the wider politics of the United Kingdom

Politics of the United Kingdom

The politics of the United Kingdom takes place within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is the head of state and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government...

, with Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

as one of the four constituent countries

Country

A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...

of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

Constitutionally, the United Kingdom is de jure
De jure
De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....

a unitary state

Unitary state

A unitary state is a state governed as one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions exercise only powers that their central government chooses to delegate...

with one sovereign

Sovereignty

Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...

parliament and government. However, under a system of devolution

Devolution

Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...

(or home rule) adopted in the late 1990s three of the four constituent parts of the United Kingdom, Wales

Wales

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

and Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

, voted for limited self-government, subject to the ability of the UK Parliament in Westminster

Palace of Westminster

The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...

, nominally at will, to amend, change, broaden or abolish the national governmental systems. As such the National Assembly of Wales (Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru) is not de jure sovereign

Sovereignty

.

Executive power

Executive Power

Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...

in the United Kingdom is vested in the Queen-in-Council

Queen-in-Council

The Queen-in-Council is, in each of the Commonwealth realms, the technical term of constitutional law that refers to the exercise of executive authority, denoting the monarch acting by and with the advice and consent of his or her privy council or executive council The Queen-in-Council (during...

, while legislative power is vested in the Queen-in-Parliament

Queen-in-Parliament

The Queen-in-Parliament , sometimes referred to as the Crown-in-Parliament or, more fully, as the King in Parliament under God, is a technical term of constitutional law in the Commonwealth realms that refers to the Crown in its legislative role, acting with the advice and consent of the lower...

(the Crown and the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

at Westminster

Palace of Westminster

in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

). The Government of Wales Act 1998

Government of Wales Act 1998

This is about the Act that set up the Welsh Assembly. For the newer Government of Wales Act 2006, see that article.The Government of Wales Act 1998 This is about the Act that set up the Welsh Assembly. For the newer Government of Wales Act 2006, see that article.The Government of Wales Act 1998...

established devolution in Wales, and certain executive and legislative powers have been constitutionally delegated to the National Assembly for Wales

National Assembly for Wales

The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...

. The scope of these powers was further widened by the Government of Wales Act 2006

Government of Wales Act 2006

The Government of Wales Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reforms the National Assembly for Wales and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily...

The emergence of a Welsh politics

After the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, Wales was treated in legal terms as part of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The Wales and Berwick Act 1746

Wales and Berwick Act 1746

The Wales and Berwick Act 1746 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which created a statutory definition of "England" as including England, Wales and Berwick-upon-Tweed. This definition applied to all acts passed before and after the Act's coming into force, unless a given Act provided an...

stated that all laws applying to England would also be applicable to Wales, unless the body of the law explicitly stated otherwise. However, during the latter part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century the notion of a distinctive Welsh polity gained credence. In 1881 the Welsh Sunday Closing Act

Sunday Closing (Wales) Act 1881

The Sunday Closing Act 1881 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It required the closure of all public houses in Wales on Sundays. The Act had considerable political importance as a formal acknowledgement of the separate character of Wales, setting a precedent for future...

was passed, the first such legislation exclusively concerned with Wales. The Central Welsh Board was established in 1896 to inspect the grammar schools set up under the Welsh Intermediate Education Act 1889, and a separate Welsh Department of the Board of Education was formed in 1907. The Agricultural Council for Wales was set up in 1912, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a United Kingdom government department created by the Board of Agriculture Act 1889 and at that time called the Board of Agriculture, and then from 1903 the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, and from 1919 the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries...

had its own Welsh Office from 1919.

Despite the failure of popular political movements such as Cymru Fydd

Cymru Fydd

The Cymru Fydd movement was founded in 1886 by some of the London Welsh, including J. E. Lloyd, O. M. Edwards, T. E. Ellis , Beriah Gwynfe Evans and Alfred Thomas. Initially it was a purely London-based society, later expanding to cities in England with a large Welsh population...

, a number of institutions, such as the National Eisteddfod (1861), the University of Wales

University of Wales

The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...

(Prifysgol Cymru) (1893), the National Library of Wales

National Library of Wales

The National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...

(Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru) (1911) and the Welsh Guards

Welsh Guards

The Welsh Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division.-Creation :The Welsh Guards came into existence on 26 February 1915 by Royal Warrant of His Majesty King George V in order to include Wales in the national component to the Foot Guards, "..though the order...

(Gwarchodlu Cymreig) (1915) were created. The campaign for disestablishment of the Anglican Church in Wales, achieved by the passage of the Welsh Church Act 1914

Welsh Church Act 1914

The Welsh Church Act 1914 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom under which the Welsh part of the Church of England was separated and disestablished, leading to the creation of the Church in Wales...

, was also significant in the development of Welsh political consciousness. Without a popular base, the issue of home rule

Home rule

Home rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....

did not feature as an issue in subsequent General Elections and was quickly eclipsed by the depression. By August 1925 unemployment in Wales rose to 28.5%, in contrast to the economic boom in the early 1920s, rendering constitutional debate an exotic subject. In the same year Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru

' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...

was formed with the goal of securing a Welsh-speaking Wales.

Following the Second World War the Labour

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

Government of Clement Attlee

Clement Attlee

Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...

established the Council for Wales and Monmouthshire, an unelected assembly of 27 with the brief of advising the UK government on matters of Welsh interest. By that time, most UK government departments had set up their own offices in Wales. The Labour Party

Wales Labour Party

Welsh Labour is the part of the United Kingdom Labour Party that operates in Wales. Labour is the largest and most successful political party in modern Welsh politics, having won the largest share of the vote at every UK General Election since 1922, every Welsh Assembly election since 1999, and...

had also partly reappraised its view to devolution, establishing in 1947 the Welsh Regional Council of Labour from the constituent parts of the party in Wales and as part of a move to plan the economy on an all-Wales basis. However, resistance from other elements of the party meant that the machinery of government was not similarly reformed until much later.

The post of Minister of Welsh Affairs was first established in 1951, but was at first held by the UK Home Secretary

Home Secretary

The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...

. Further incremental changes also took place, including the establishment of a Digest of Welsh Statistics in 1954, and the designation of Cardiff

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

(Caerdydd) as Wales’s capital city in 1955. However, further reforms were catalysed partly as a result of the controversy surrounding the flooding of Capel Celyn

Capel Celyn

Capel Celyn was a rural community to the north west of Bala in Gwynedd, north Wales, in the Afon Tryweryn valley. The village and other parts of the valley were flooded to create a reservoir, Llyn Celyn, in order to supply Liverpool and The Wirral with water for industry...

in 1956. Despite almost unanimous Welsh political opposition the scheme had been approved, a fact that seemed to underline Plaid Cymru's argument that the Welsh national community was powerless. Welsh nationalism experienced a modest increase in support, with Plaid Cymru’s share of the vote increasing from 0.3% in 1951 to 5.2% by 1959 throughout Wales.

In 1964 the incoming Labour Government of Harold Wilson

Harold Wilson

James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...

created the Welsh Office

Welsh Office

The Welsh Office was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Wales, a post which had been created in October 1964...

under a Secretary of State for Wales

Secretary of State for Wales

The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...

, with its powers augmented to include health, agriculture and education in 1968, 1969 and 1970 respectively. The creation of administration devolution effectively defined the territorial governance of modern Wales.

Labour's incremental embrace of a distinctive Welsh polity was arguably catalysed in 1966 when Plaid Cymru president Gwynfor Evans

Gwynfor Evans

Dr Richard Gwynfor Evans , was a Welsh politician, lawyer and author. President of Plaid Cymru for thirty six years, he was the first Member of Parliament to represent Plaid Cymru at Westminster ....

won the Carmarthen by-election

Carmarthen by-election, 1966

The Carmarthen by-election, was held in Carmarthen, Wales on 14 July 1966. The contest was significant in that it resulted in the election of Gwynfor Evans, the first ever Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament...

(although in fact Labour had endorsed plans for an elected council for Wales weeks before the by-election). However, by 1967 Labour retreated from endorsing home rule mainly because of the open hostility expressed by other Welsh Labour MPs to anything "which could be interpreted as a concession to nationalism" and because of opposition by the Secretary of State for Scotland

Secretary of State for Scotland

The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...

, who was responding to a growth of Scottish nationalism

Scottish independence

Scottish independence is a political ambition of political parties, advocacy groups and individuals for Scotland to secede from the United Kingdom and become an independent sovereign state, separate from England, Wales and Northern Ireland....

.

In response to the emergence of Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party

Scottish National Party

The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....

(SNP) Harold Wilson's Labour Government set up the Royal Commission on the Constitution

Royal Commission on the Constitution (United Kingdom)

The Royal Commission on the Constitution, also referred to as the Kilbrandon Commission or Kilbrandon Report, was a long-running royal commission set up by Harold Wilson's Labour government to examine the structures of the constitution of the United Kingdom and the British Islands and the...

(the Kilbrandon Commission) to investigate the UK’s constitutional arrangements in 1969. Its eventual recommendations formed the basis of the 1974 White Paper

White paper

A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that helps solve a problem. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions, and are often requested and used in politics, policy, business, and technical fields. In commercial use, the term has also come to refer to...

Democracy and Devolution: proposals for Scotland and Wales., which proposed the creation of a Welsh Assembly. However, voters rejected the proposals by a majority of four to one in a referendum held in 1979

Wales referendum, 1979

In a referendum on St David's Day 1979, the people of Wales voted against proposals by the Labour government of the United Kingdom to establish a Welsh Assembly....

.

The election of a Labour Government in 1997 brought devolution back to the political agenda. In July 1997, the government published a White Paper, A Voice for Wales, which outlined its proposals for devolution, and in September 1997 an elected Assembly with competence over the Welsh Office’s powers was narrowly approved in a referendum. The National Assembly for Wales

National Assembly for Wales

The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...

(Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru) was created in 1999, with further authority devolved in 2007, with the creation of a Welsh legal system to adjudicate on specific cases of Welsh law. Following devolution, the role of the Secretary of State for Wales greatly reduced. Most of the powers of the Welsh Office were handed over to the National Assembly; the Wales Office

Wales Office

The Wales Office / Swyddfa Cymru is a United Kingdom government department. It replaced the former Welsh Office, which had extensive responsibility for governing Wales prior to Welsh devolution in 1999....

was established in 1999 to supersede the Welsh Office and support the Secretary of State.

The National Assembly for Wales

The National Assembly for Wales (NAW or NAfW) is a devolved

Devolution

assembly

National Assembly

National Assembly is either a legislature, or the lower house of a bicameral legislature in some countries. The best known National Assembly, and the first legislature to be known by this title, was that established during the French Revolution in 1789, known as the Assemblée nationale...

with power to make legislation in Wales

Wales

. The assembly building is known as the Senedd

Senedd

The Senedd , also known as the National Assembly building, houses the debating chamber and three committee rooms for the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff. The Senedd building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 1 March 2006 and the total cost was £69.6 million, which included £49.7M in...

. Both English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

and Welsh

Welsh language

Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

languages are treated on a basis of equality in the conduct of business in the Assembly.

The Assembly was formed under the Government of Wales Act 1998

Government of Wales Act 1998

, by the Labour

Labour Party (UK)

government, following a referendum in 1997. The campaign for a 'yes' vote in the referendum was supported by Welsh Labour

Wales Labour Party

, Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru

' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...

, the Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...

and much of Welsh civic society, such as church groups and the trade union movement. The Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

was the only major political party in Wales to oppose devolution.

The election in 2003 produced an assembly in which half of the assembly seats were held by women. This is thought to be the first time elections to a legislature have produced equal representation for women.

The National Assembly consists of 60 elected members. They use the title Assembly Member (AM) or Aelod y Cynulliad (AC). Since its creation in 1999, the Assembly's presiding officer

Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales

The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales is the Speaker of the National Assembly for Wales, elected by the Members of the National Assembly for Wales to chair their meetings ; to maintain order; and to protect the rights of Members.He or she also heads the Corporate Body of the...

has been Plaid Cymru member Lord Elis-Thomas

Dafydd Elis-Thomas

Dafydd Elis Elis-Thomas, Baron Elis-Thomas, PC, AM, is a Welsh politician and was the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales until 2011...

.

The Welsh Government is led by First Minister Carwyn Jones

Carwyn Jones

Carwyn Howell Jones is a Welsh politician and the First Minister of Wales. The third official to lead the Welsh Government, Jones has been Assembly Member for Bridgend since 1999. In the coalition government of Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru, he was appointed Counsel General for Wales and Leader of...

of Welsh Labour

Wales Labour Party

. in coalition with Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru

' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...

, whose leader, Ieuan Wyn Jones

Ieuan Wyn Jones

Ieuan Wyn Jones, AM is a Welsh politician, who was the Deputy First Minister in the Welsh Assembly Government from 2007 until 2011. Jones is the current leader of Plaid Cymru and Member of the National Assembly for Wales for the Ynys Môn constituency...

is Deputy First Minister.

The executive and civil servants are based in Cardiff's Cathays Park

Cathays Park

In addition to the large lawn in front of the City Hall, Cathays Park includes three formal gardens. All of the spaces are within conservation areas and many of the surrounding buildings are listed. The open spaces are very important to the image of the city. Several important buildings overlook...

while the Assembly Members, the Assembly Parliamentary Service and Ministerial support staff are based in Cardiff Bay

Cardiff Bay

Cardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...

where a new £67 million Assembly Building, known as the Senedd, has recently been built.

Until May 2007 one important feature of the Assembly was that there was no legal or constitutional separation of the legislative and executive functions, since it was a single corporate entity. Even compared with other parliamentary systems, and other UK devolved countries, this was highly unusual. In reality however there was day to day separation, and the terms "Assembly Government" and "Assembly Parliamentary Service" were used to distinguish between the two arms. The Government of Wales Act 2006

Government of Wales Act 2006

The Government of Wales Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reforms the National Assembly for Wales and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily...

regularised the separation once it comes into effect following the 2007 Assembly Election.

Although the Assembly is a legislature, it has limited legislative power.

Whilst in theory the Assembly has no tax varying powers, the Assembly in reality has some very limited power over taxes. For example, in Wales, as in England, the rate of Council Tax

Council tax

Council Tax is the system of local taxation used in England, Scotland and Wales to part fund the services provided by local government in each country. It was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as a successor to the unpopular Community Charge...

is set by local authorities

Local government in the United Kingdom

The pattern of local government in England is complex, with the distribution of functions varying according to the local arrangements. Legislation concerning local government in England is decided by the Parliament and Government of the United Kingdom, because England does not have a devolved...

, however since the Assembly largely determines the level of grants to local councils, it can influence the level of local taxation indirectly.

In terms of charges for government services it also has some discretion. Notable examples where this discretion has been used and varies significantly to other areas in the UK include:-

Charges for NHS prescriptions in Wales - these have been abolished, while patients are still charged in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Charges for University Tuition - are different for Welsh resident students studying at Welsh Universities, compared with students from or studying elsewhere in the UK.
Charging for Residential Care - In Wales there is a flat rate of contribution towards the cost of nursing care, (roughly comparable to the highest level of English Contribution) for those who require residential care.

This means in reality there is a wider definition of "nursing care" than in England and therefore less dependence on means testing in Wales than in England, meaning that more people are entitled to higher levels of state assistance. These variations in the levels of charges, may be viewed as de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...

tax varying powers.

This model of more limited legislative powers is partly because Wales had a more similar legal system to England

England

from 1536, when it was annexed

Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542

The Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 were parliamentary measures by which the legal system of Wales was annexed to England and the norms of English administration introduced. The intention was to create a single state and a single legal jurisdiction; frequently referred to as England and Wales...

and legally became an integral part of the Kingdom of England

Kingdom of England

The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...

(although Wales retained its own judicial system, the Great Sessions until 1830 ). Ireland and Scotland were incorporated into the United Kingdom through negotiations between the respective Kingdoms' Parliaments, and so retained some more differences in their legal systems. The Scottish Parliament

Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...

and the Northern Ireland Assembly

Northern Ireland Assembly

The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...

have wider powers.

The Assembly inherited the powers and budget of the Secretary of State for Wales

Secretary of State for Wales

and most of the functions of the Welsh Office

Welsh Office

. Since May 2007 the National Assembly for Wales

National Assembly for Wales

The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...

has had more extensive powers to legislate, in addition to the function of varying laws passed by Westminster using secondary legislation conferred under the original Government of Wales Act 1998

Government of Wales Act 1998

. The post of Secretary of State for Wales

Secretary of State for Wales

, currently Cheryl Gillan

Cheryl Gillan

Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan is a British Conservative Party politician. She is currently the Secretary of State for Wales, and the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Chesham and Amersham in Buckinghamshire....

, retains a residual role.

Welsh Government

The Welsh Government ' onMouseout='HidePop("92521")' href="/topics/Executive_(government)">executive

Executive (government)

Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...

body of the National Assembly for Wales

National Assembly for Wales

The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...

, consisting of the First Minister and his Cabinet

Cabinet (government)

A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...

.

The Cabinet Members of the Welsh Government are:
Coalition Government: July 2007

Following the 2007 National Assembly election

National Assembly for Wales election, 2007

The 2007 National Assembly election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the National Assembly for Wales. It was the third general election. On the same day local elections in England and Scotland, and the Scottish Parliament election took place...

, a coalition Labour

Wales Labour Party

and Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru

' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...

was formed on 9 July 2007, and ministerial positions were confirmed on 19 July 2007 by the First Minister. Cabinet Members of the Welsh Government:

First Minister

Carwyn Jones

Carwyn Jones

AM (Labour)

Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport

Minister for the Economy and Transport

The Minister for the Economy and Transport was a member of the Cabinet in the Welsh Assembly Government. The Minister had responsibility for the Department for the Economy and Transport, which combined two devolved functions of the Welsh Government: Business and Economy, and Transport...

Ieuan Wyn Jones

AM (Plaid Cymru)

Welsh Ministers

Andrew Davies AM, Minister for Finance and Public Service Delivery (Labour)
Jane Davidson
Jane Davidson
Jane Davidson, AM was the Labour Assembly Member for Pontypridd and the Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in the Welsh Assembly Government. She lives in Gwaelod-y-Garth with her husband and three children...

AM, Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing (Labour)
Brian Gibbons
Brian Gibbons
Dr Brian Gibbons, AM, FRCGP was the Labour Party Assembly Member for Aberavon from May 1999 to May 2010, when he stood down...

AM, Minister for Social Justice and Local Government (Labour)
Jane Hutt
Jane Hutt
Jane Hutt AM is a Welsh Labour politician and a Minister in the Welsh Assembly Government. Hutt has represented the Vale of Glamorgan constituency since the National Assembly for Wales was established in 1999...

AM, Minister for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning & Skills (Labour)
Edwina Hart
Edwina Hart
Edwina Hart, MBE, AM is a Welsh Labour politician who has represented the constituency of Gower since the National Assembly for Wales was established in 1999. Hart was appointed Minister for Health and Social Services in the Welsh Government in May 2007.-Background:Hart was born and raised in...

AM, Minister for Health & Social Services (Labour)
Elin Jones
Elin Jones
Elin Jones AM , is a Welsh politician, born in Lampeter, Wales, who has represented Ceredigion for Plaid Cymru as a Member of the National Assembly for Wales since 1999.-Background:...

AM, Minister for Rural Affairs (Plaid Cymru)
Rhodri Glyn Thomas
Rhodri Glyn Thomas
Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM is a Welsh politician. He has been the Plaid Cymru National Assembly for Wales Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr since 1999.-Education:...

AM, Minister for Heritage (Plaid Cymru)

Deputy Welsh Ministers

Gwenda Thomas
Gwenda Thomas
Gwenda Thomas AM is the Labour Assembly Member for Neath. Mrs Thomas was first elected to the National Assembly for Wales in 1999 and re-elected in 2003, having almost doubled her majority. She is a fluent Welsh speaker...

AM, Deputy Minister for Social Services (Labour)
Leighton Andrews
Leighton Andrews
Leighton Andrews is a Welsh Labour politician, currently the National Assembly for Wales member for Rhondda since 2003...

AM, Deputy Minister for Regeneration (Labour)
Jocelyn Davies
Jocelyn Davies
Jocelyn Davies is a Plaid Cymru politician and a member of the National Assembly of Wales, list member for South Wales East since 1999. She was Deputy Minister for Housing and Regeneration...

AM, Deputy Minister for Housing (Plaid Cymru)
John Griffiths
John Griffiths
John Griffiths AM is a Welsh Labour Co-operative politician and the Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development...

AM, Deputy Minister for Skills (Labour)

Counsel General for Wales

The Counsel General for Wales advises the Welsh Government on Welsh legislative matters and advises on legislative competency. The position of the Counsel General for Wales is described in the Government of Wales Act 2006 and controlled in Standing Order 5 ....

John Griffiths
John Griffiths
John Griffiths AM is a Welsh Labour Co-operative politician and the Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development...

AM

Carl Sargeant

Carl Sargeant AM is a Welsh Labour politician and the Minister for Social Justice & Local Government in the Welsh Assembly Government...

AM holds the non-ministerial post of Labour Chief Whip and attends Cabinet.

The Welsh Government had no independent executive powers in law - unlike for instance, the Scottish Ministers and Ministers in the UK government. The Assembly was established as a body corporate by the Government of Wales Act 1998

Government of Wales Act 1998

and the executive, as a committee

Committee

A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...

of the Assembly, only has those powers that the Assembly as a whole votes to vest in ministers. The Government of Wales Act 2006

Government of Wales Act 2006

The Government of Wales Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reforms the National Assembly for Wales and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily...

has formally separated the Assembly and the Welsh Government giving Welsh Ministers independent executive authority.

Political parties

Throughout much of the 19th century, Wales was a bastion of the Liberal Party

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

. From the early 20th century, the Labour Party

Wales Labour Party

has emerged as the most popular political party in Wales, before 2009 having won the largest share of the vote at every UK General Election

United Kingdom general elections

This is a list of United Kingdom general elections since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Ireland, before being co-opted to serve in the first Parliament of the United Kingdom, so that Parliament...

, National Assembly of Wales election and European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

election since 1922. The Wales Labour Party has traditionally been most successful in the industrial south Wales valleys

South Wales Valleys

The South Wales Valleys are a number of industrialised valleys in South Wales, stretching from eastern Carmarthenshire in the west to western Monmouthshire in the east and from the Heads of the Valleys in the north to the lower-lying, pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain...

, north east Wales and urban costal areas, such as Cardiff

Cardiff

, Newport

Newport

Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...

and Swansea

Swansea

Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...

.

The Welsh Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

has historically been the second political party of Wales, having obtained the second largest share of the vote in Wales in a majority of UK General Elections since 1885. In three General Elections (1906

United Kingdom general election, 1906

-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...

, 1997

United Kingdom general election, 1997

The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...

and 2001

United Kingdom general election, 2001

The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...

) no Conservative MPs were returned to Westminster, while on only two occasions in the 20th century (1979

United Kingdom general election, 1979

The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...

and 1983

United Kingdom general election, 1983

The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...

) have more than a quarter of Welsh constituencies been represented by Conservatives. However, in the 2009 European Parliament Elections

European Parliament election, 2009 (United Kingdom)

The European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2009 European Parliament election, the voting for which was held on Thursday 4 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections in England. Most of the results of the election were announced on Sunday 7 June, after...

the Conservatives polled higher than the Labour party in Wales.

Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru

' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...

is the principal Welsh nationalist

Welsh nationalism

Welsh nationalism emphasises the distinctiveness of Welsh language, culture, and history, and calls for more self-determination for Wales, which may include more Devolved powers for the Welsh Assembly or full independence from the United Kingdom.-Conquest:...

political party in Wales. The Party was formed in 1925, but did not contest a majority of Welsh seats in any UK General Election until 1959

United Kingdom general election, 1959

This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...

. In 1966

United Kingdom general election, 1966

The 1966 United Kingdom general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964 had an unworkably small majority of only 4 MPs...

the first Plaid Cymru MP was returned to Parliament. Plaid Cymru's share of the vote since has averaged 10%, with the highest share ever - 14.3% - gained in the 2001 General Election

United Kingdom general election, 2001

. Plaid Cymru is strongest in rural Welsh-speaking areas of north

North Wales

North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...

and west Wales

West Wales

West Wales is the western area of Wales.Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, an area which historically comprised the Welsh principality of Deheubarth., an area called "South West Wales" in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics....

.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats

Welsh Liberal Democrats

The Welsh Liberal Democrats are one of the three state parties of the federal Liberal Democrats and operate within Wales, the others being the Scottish Liberal Democrats and the Liberal Democrats in England....

are part of the federal Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrats

, and were formed by the merger of the Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party (UK)

The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...

(the SDP) and the Liberal Party

Liberal Party (UK)

in 1988. Since then they have gained an average vote share of 14% with the highest share - 18% - gained at the 2005 General Election

United Kingdom general election, 2005

The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....

. The Welsh Liberal Democrats have the strongest support in rural mid and west Wales. The party performs relatively strongly in local government elections.

Current party representation

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan=2| Party
! MEPs
! MPs
! AMs
! Local Authority overall control
|-

| align="right" | 1 of 4
| align="center" | 26 of 40
| align="center" | 30 of 60
| align="center" | 2 of 22
|-

| align="right" | 1 of 4
| align="center" | 8 of 40
| align="center" | 14 of 60
| align="center" | 1 of 22
|-

| align="right" | 1 of 4
| align="center" | 3 of 40
| align="center" | 11 of 60
| align="center" | 1 of 22
|-

| align="right" | 0 of 4
| align="center" | 3 of 40
| align="center" | 5 of 60
| align="center" | 0 of 22
|-

| align="right" | 1 of 4
| align="center" | 0 of 40
| align="center" | 0 of 60
| align="center" | 0 of 22
|-

Welsh politics since devolution

Between 1999 and 2007 there were three elections for the National Assembly. Labour won the largest share of votes and seats in each election and has always been in government in Wales, either as a minority administration

Minority government

A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...

or in coalition, first with the Liberal Democrats and more recently with Plaid Cymru. The predominance of coalitions is a result of the Additional Member System

Additional Member System

The Additional Member System is the term used in the United Kingdom for the mixed member proportional representation voting system used in Scotland, Wales and the London Assembly....

used for Assembly elections, which has worked to the benefit of Labour (it won a higher share of seats than votes in the 1999, 2003 and 2007 elections) but not given it the same advantage the party has enjoyed in first-past-the-post

Plurality voting system

The plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...

elections to Welsh seats in the House of Commons.

Policy divergence between Wales and England has arisen largely because Welsh governments have not followed the market

Free market

A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...

-based English public service reforms introduced during the premiership of Tony Blair

Premiership of Tony Blair

The Premiership of Tony Blair began on 2 May 1997 and ended on 27 June 2007. While serving as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Blair concurrently served as the First Lord of the Treasury, the Minister for the Civil Service, the Leader of the Labour Party , and a Member of Parliament for the...

. In 2002, First Minister Rhodri Morgan

Rhodri Morgan

Hywel Rhodri Morgan is a Welsh Labour politician who, as First Secretary for Wales, and subsequently First Minister, was leader of the Welsh Assembly Government from 2000 to 2009. A former leader of Welsh Labour, he was the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011...

said that a key theme of the first four years of the Assembly was the creation of a new set of citizenship rights that are free at the point of use, universal and unconditional. He accepted the Blairite

Tony Blair

Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...

mantra of equality of opportunity and equality of access, but emphasised what he called "the fundamentally socialist aim of equality of outcome" - in stark contrast to the approach of Blair, who said that the true meaning of equality is specifically "not equality of outcome".

Marking ten years of devolution in a 2009 speech, Morgan highlighted free prescriptions, primary school breakfasts and free swimming as ‘Made in Wales’ initiatives that had made "a real difference to people’s everyday lives" since the National Assembly came into being. However, some authors have argued that the approach to public services in England has been more effective than that in Wales, with health and education "cost(ing) less and delivering more". Unfavourable comparisons between NHS

National Health Service

The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...

waiting lists in England and Wales were a contentious issue in the first and second Assemblies.

Nevertheless, a 'progressive consensus' based on faith in the power of government, universal rather than means-tested services, co-operation rather than competition in public services

Quasi-market

A quasi-market is a public sector institutional structure that is designed to reap the supposed efficiency gains of free markets without losing the equity benefits of traditional systems of public administration and financing....

, a rejection of individual choice as a guide to policy and a focus on equality of outcome continued to underpin the One Wales

One Wales

One Wales is the coalition agreement for the National Assembly for Wales between Labour and Plaid Cymru agreed to by Rhodri Morgan, First Minister of Wales and leader of Welsh Labour, and Ieuan Wyn Jones, leader of Plaid Cymru, on 27 June 2007. It was negotiated in the wake of the preceding...

coalition government in the Third Assembly. The commitment to universalism may be tested by increasing budgetary constraints; in April 2009 a senior Plaid Cymru adviser warned of impending health and education cuts.

Local politics

For the purposes of local government, Wales was divided into 22 council areas in 1996. These unitary authorities are responsible for the provision of all local government services, including education, social work, environment and roads services. The lowest tier of local government in Wales is the community council

Community council

A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain.In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies...

, which is analogous to a civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

in England.

The Queen appoints a Lord Lieutenant

Lord Lieutenant

The title Lord Lieutenant is given to the British monarch's personal representatives in the United Kingdom, usually in a county or similar circumscription, with varying tasks throughout history. Usually a retired local notable, senior military officer, peer or business person is given the post...

to represent her in the eight Preserved counties of Wales

Preserved counties of Wales

The preserved counties of Wales are the current areas used in Wales for the ceremonial purposes of Lieutenancy and Shrievalty. They are based on the counties created by the Local Government Act 1972 and used for local government and other purposes between 1974 and 1996.-Usage:The Local Government ...

, which are combinations of council areas.

Contemporary Welsh law

Since the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, Wales was annexed into England and has since shared a single legal system. England

England

and Wales are considered a single unit for the conflict of laws

Conflict of laws

Conflict of laws is a set of procedural rules that determines which legal system and which jurisdiction's applies to a given dispute...

. This is because the unit is the constitutional successor to the former Kingdom of England

Kingdom of England

. If considered as a subdivision of the United Kingdom, England & Wales would have a population of 53,390,300 and an area of 151,174 km².

The other countries of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

, namely Scotland

Scotland

and Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

, as well as dependencies such as the Isle of Man

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

and the Bailiwick

Bailiwick

A bailiwick is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and may also apply to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a royal or imperial writ. The word is now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of...

s of Jersey

Jersey

Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...

and Guernsey

Guernsey

Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...

, are also separate units for this purpose (although they are not separate states under public international law), each with their own legal system (see the more complete explanation in English law

English law

English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countries and the United States except Louisiana...

).

Wales was brought under a common monarch with England through conquest with the Statute of Rhuddlan

Statute of Rhuddlan

The Statute of Rhuddlan , also known as the Statutes of Wales or as the Statute of Wales provided the constitutional basis for the government of the Principality of North Wales from 1284 until 1536...

in 1284 and annexed to England for legal purposes by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542

Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542

. However, references in legislation for 'England' were still taken as excluding Wales. The Wales and Berwick Act 1746

Wales and Berwick Act 1746

meant that in all future laws, 'England' would by default include Wales (and Berwick-upon-Tweed

Berwick-upon-Tweed

Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....

). This was later repealed in 1967 and current laws use "England and Wales" as a single entity.
Cardiff

Cardiff

was proclaimed as the Welsh capital in 1955.

In the UK Parliament

Wales elects 40 representatives to the 646-member House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

in the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

in London. In the 2010 General Election, the Labour Party lost approximately 12% of the vote across Wales, with losses varying by region. However, Labour managed to mitigate their losses by winning 26 seats. The Conservatives returned the three MP's elected in the 2005 general election as well as adding 5 more. The Liberal Democrats have 3 seats. Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, also have 3 seats after gaining a seat from Labour.

In the UK Government

The Wales Office

Wales Office

(Swyddfa Cymru) is a United Kingdom government department. It is a replacement for the old Welsh Office

Welsh Office

(Swyddfa Gymreig), which had extensive responsibility for governing Wales prior to Welsh devolution in 1999. Its current incarnation is significantly less powerful: it is primarily responsible for carrying out the few functions remaining to the Secretary of State for Wales

Secretary of State for Wales

that have not been transferred already to National Assembly for Wales

National Assembly for Wales

The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...

and securing funds for Wales as part of the annual budget settlement.

The Secretary of State for Wales

Secretary of State for Wales

has overall responsibility for the office but it is located administratively within the Department for Constitutional Affairs

Department for Constitutional Affairs

The Department for Constitutional Affairs was a United Kingdom government department. Its creation was announced on 12 June 2003 with the intention of replacing the Lord Chancellor's Department...

. This was carried out as part of the changes announced on 12 June 2003 that were part of a package intended toward replacing the Lord Chancellor's Department

Lord Chancellor's Department

The Lord Chancellor's Department was a United Kingdom government department answerable to the Lord Chancellor with jurisdiction over England and Wales....

.

Ministers of the Wales Office

Wales Office

as of 12 May 2010:

Secretary of State for Wales
Secretary of State for Wales
The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...

: The Rt Hon. Cheryl Gillan
Cheryl Gillan
Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan is a British Conservative Party politician. She is currently the Secretary of State for Wales, and the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Chesham and Amersham in Buckinghamshire....

MP
Parliamentary Secretary
Parliamentary Secretary
A Parliamentary Secretary is a member of a Parliament in the Westminster system who assists a more senior minister with his or her duties.In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to...

(administratively situated in the Department for Constitutional Affairs
Department for Constitutional Affairs
The Department for Constitutional Affairs was a United Kingdom government department. Its creation was announced on 12 June 2003 with the intention of replacing the Lord Chancellor's Department...

): tba

Welsh representation in the European Union

Wales is a constituency

Wales (European Parliament constituency)

Wales is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 4 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.- Boundaries :...

of the European Parliament

European Parliament

. It currently elects four Members of the European Parliament using the d'Hondt method

D'Hondt method

The d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...

of party-list proportional representation

Party-list proportional representation

Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections in which multiple candidates are elected...

, representation having been reduced from five seats in 2004. The constituency corresponds to the entire country of Wales.

Members of the European Parliament

1999–2004

Jill Evans, Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
Jonathan Evans, Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Glenys Kinnock
Glenys Kinnock
Glenys Elizabeth Kinnock, Baroness Kinnock and Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead is a British politician....

, Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Eluned Morgan, Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Eurig Wyn
Eurig Wyn
Eurig Wyn is a Welsh politician. He was a Plaid Cymru Member of the European Parliament for Wales from 1999 to 2004, when he lost his seat in part due to a reduction of the number of seats that Wales had....

, Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...

2004–2009

Jill Evans, Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
Jonathan Evans, Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Glenys Kinnock
Glenys Kinnock
Glenys Elizabeth Kinnock, Baroness Kinnock and Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead is a British politician....

, Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Eluned Morgan, Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

2009–present

John Bufton
John Bufton
John Bufton , is a UKIP Member of the European Parliament for Wales.-Early life:He was educated at Elan Village Primary School and Llandrindod Wells High School, and joined the family haulage business before embarking on a career managing a residential care home for the elderly with the local...

, UK Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
Jill Evans, Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
Kay Swinburne
Kay Swinburne
Jacqueline Kay Swinburne is a Welsh politician. She is a Conservative Member of the European Parliament for Wales.-Background:...

, Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Derek Vaughan
Derek Vaughan
Derek Vaughan was elected as Labour Party Member of the European Parliament for Wales in the 2009 European Parliament election.-Biography:Vaughan was born in Aberfan and studied politics and history at Swansea University. He has served as a full time trades union official, and is a member of the...

, Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

Intergovernmental relations within the EU

The Concordat on Co-ordination of European Union Policy Issues between the UK Government and the devolved administrations

Devolution

notes that "as all foreign policy issues are non-devolved, relations with the European Union are the responsibility of the Parliament and Government of the United Kingdom, as Member State". However, Welsh Assembly Government

Welsh Assembly Government

The Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales. It is accountable to the National Assembly for Wales, the legislature which represents the interests of the people of Wales and makes laws for Wales...

civil servants participate in the United Kingdom Permanent Representation to the EU (UKRep), and Wales is represented on the EU's Committee of the Regions

Committee of the Regions

The Committee of the Regions is European Union's assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities with a direct voice within the EU's institutional framework....

and Economic and Social Committee

Economic and Social Committee

The European Economic and Social Committee is a body of the European Union established in 1958. It is a consultative assembly composed of employers , employees and representatives of various other interests...

Political media outlets

Dragon's Eye: A BBC Wales
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...

political current events show that "dares to breathe fire into Welsh politics and public life."
David Cornock's other blog BBC Wales' Parliamentary correspondent David Cornock's diary on political life
BBC Wales Political On-line News
Betsan's blog Betsan Powys, BBC Wales
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...

' political editor's blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
Blog Vaughan Roderick Welsh language blog of Vaughan Roderick, BBC's Welsh Politics correspondent
icWales.co.uk Politics section on the on-line version of the Western Mail
Wales Blog Index Round up of Welsh political blogs
Cambria Current affairs magazine
Barn Welsh language current affairs magazine