List of political parties in Wales
Encyclopedia
Parties represented in the National Assembly for Wales
Parties represented in the National Assembly for WalesNational 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...
(in order of number of representatives):
- Welsh Labour - centre-left, Social democratic, Democratic socialist, UnionistBritish unionismBritish unionism is a political ideology favouring the continued existence of the United Kingdom as a sovereign state, consisting of four constituent countries, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland....
- (30)AMs
- Welsh ConservativesWelsh Conservative PartyThe Welsh Conservatives & Unionists , informally the Welsh Conservatives or Welsh Tories, are the part of the Conservative Party which operates in Wales...
- centre-right, Conservative, Liberal conservative, UnionistBritish unionismBritish unionism is a political ideology favouring the continued existence of the United Kingdom as a sovereign state, consisting of four constituent countries, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland....
- (14)AMs
- Plaid CymruPlaid 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...
- centre-left, Social democratic, Democratic socialist, Pro-independenceWelsh independenceWelsh independence is a political ideal advocated by some people in Wales that would see Wales secede from the United Kingdom and become an independent sovereign state. This ideology is promoted mainly by the Welsh nationalist party, Plaid Cymru.-History:...
- (11)AMs
- Welsh Liberal DemocratsWelsh Liberal DemocratsThe 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....
- centrist, LiberalLiberalismLiberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, Social liberalSocial liberalismSocial liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
, UnionistBritish unionismBritish unionism is a political ideology favouring the continued existence of the United Kingdom as a sovereign state, consisting of four constituent countries, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland....
- (5)AMs
Minor parties
- NewidNewidNewid is a political party in Wales. It is the world's first popular movement for demarchy, a form of democracy in which government policy is decided by representative groups of citizens randomly selected by sortition rather than by career politicians chosen in elections.The party defies...
- party seeking to establish a demarchic political system in Wales - Forward Wales
- Cymru RyddCymru RyddCymru Rydd are a minor political party in Wales. Their translated English title is "Free Wales". As of 2006 they have had no known electoral success.The party have been registered with the Electoral Commission since September 28, 2000...
- Welsh republican party - Cymru AnnibynnolCymru AnnibynnolCymru Annibynnol, the Independent Wales Party is a small political party operating in Wales. They were formed as a splinter from Plaid Cymru in January 2000, when that party's leader Ieuan Wyn Jones distanced Plaid from supporting Welsh independence....
- in favour of Welsh independenceWelsh independenceWelsh independence is a political ideal advocated by some people in Wales that would see Wales secede from the United Kingdom and become an independent sovereign state. This ideology is promoted mainly by the Welsh nationalist party, Plaid Cymru.-History:... - Llais GwyneddLlais Gwynedd' or Voice of Gwynedd is a small regionalist political party based in Gwynedd in North Wales. The party formed following the Plaid Cymru executive's proposal to more than halve the number of primary schools in Gwynedd by closing rural schools, many of the members being former members of Plaid...
- Gwynedd RegionalistRegionalism (politics)Regionalism is a term used in international relations. Regionalism also constitutes one of the three constituents of the international commercial system...
party - Wales Green PartyWales Green PartyThe Wales Green Party is a semi-autonomous political party within the Green Party of England and Wales . It covers Wales, and is the only regional party with autonomous status within the GPEW....
- British National PartyBritish National PartyThe British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
- Great Britain-wide party - Welsh Communist Party
- Plaid Rhyddfrydol i GymruLiberal Party (UK, 1989)The Liberal Party is a United Kingdom political party. It was formed in 1989 by a group of individuals within the original Liberal Party who felt that the merger of the party with the Social Democratic Party, to form the Liberal Democrats, had ended the spirit of the Liberal Party, claiming that...
- Liberal Party in Wales - Socialist Party WalesSocialist Party WalesThe Socialist Party Wales or Plaid Sosialaidd Cymru is the Welsh regional organisation of the Socialist Party of England and Wales, a section of the CWI.The SPW is a Trotskyist organisation that previously organised under the name Militant Tendency....
- Welsh Christian Party
- Respect-The Unity Coalition
- UK Independence Party
- Putting Llanelli First
Defunct parties
- Balchder CymruBalchder CymruBalchder Cymru is a Welsh political campaigning group first formed in 2000. It was led by Dennis Coslett as a figurehead. A meeting took place in Flintshire on 10 January 2004 between representatives of Balchder Cymru, Cymru 1400, Medi 16, and the RDM...
- amalgamated into Mudiad Rhyddhad Cymru and reformed as a political pressure group in 2006. - Blaenau Gwent People's Voice GroupBlaenau Gwent People's Voice GroupThe Blaenau Gwent People's Voice Group was a political party based in the Blaenau Gwent area of Wales.The group was formed in the aftermath of the election to the House of Commons of Peter Law as an independent Member of Parliament, beating the official Labour candidate. Peter Law stood against the...
- party set-up in Blaenau Gwent. Its leader, Dai DaviesDai DaviesWilliam David Davies, better known as Dai Davies , is a former professional footballer, who played in goal between 1969 and 1987...
announced he was retiring from politics and the party would be disbanded. - Cymru GochCymru GochCymru Goch was a left wing nationalist organisation in Wales. It was founded in 1987 and fought for what it described as a Free Socialist Wales...
- evolved into Forward Wales. - Welsh Republican MovementWelsh Republican MovementThe Welsh Republican Movement was a Welsh nationalist political party.It was founded in 1949 as a split from Plaid Cymru. The group, some of whom had previously been members of the Labour Party aimed to build a base in industrial south east Wales by focusing on socialism and republicanism rather...
- most members either returned to Plaid CymruPlaid 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...
or joined the Labour Party. - John Marek Independent PartyJohn Marek Independent PartyThe John Marek Independent Party was a political party in North Wales which eventually evolved into Forward Wales. It was formed in March 2003 by John Marek, who was deselected by Labour over his criticisms of its perceived rightward march...
- (2003), evolved into Forward Wales. - South Wales Socialist SocietySouth Wales Socialist SocietyThe South Wales Socialist Society was a federation of communist groups in Wales, with many of its members being coal miners. It was formed as the Rhondda Socialist Society in 1911 by participants in the Miners Reform Movement, which opposed right-wing trade union leaders., It enthusiastically...
- amalgamated with the Communist Party of Great BritainCommunist Party of Great BritainThe Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
in the 1920's. - Communist Party of South Wales and the West of EnglandCommunist Party of South Wales and the West of EnglandThe Communist Party of South Wales and the West of England was a political party in Britain, formed in September 1920. The group was formed by a minority with the South Wales Socialist Society, that did not support merging into the Communist Party of Great Britain.The group was sympathetic to the...
- disbanded in the 1920's. - Welsh Socialist AllianceWelsh Socialist AllianceThe Welsh Socialist Alliance was a socialist political organisation in Wales. It was closely related to, but separate from the Socialist Alliance.It was founded by the Socialist Party of England and Wales and Cymru Goch and some independents...
- currently inactive. - Welsh Socialist Republican MovementWelsh Socialist Republican MovementThe Welsh Socialist Republican Movement was a short-lived political movement which was born out of frustration with Plaid Cymru's failure to oppose the first referendum on Welsh Devolution in 1979 in order to map out a specific policy of arguing for Independence...
- fell apart after its members were arrested by police for conspiracy to bomb places.
See also
- Elections in WalesElections in WalesWales has elections to four tiers of government: 22 unitary local authorities, the National Assembly for Wales, the United Kingdom Parliament and the European Parliament.-Local government:...
- Politics of WalesPolitics of WalesPolitics in Wales forms a distinctive polity in the wider politics of the United Kingdom, with Wales as one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom....
- Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. It regulates party and election finance and sets standards for well-run elections...
- Political make-up of local councils in Wales