Politics of Wales

Politics of Wales Gwleidyddiaeth Cymru (Welsh)
The Royal Badge as used in Wales
Polity type	Devolved parliamentary legislature within a constitutional monarchy
Legislative branch
Name	Senedd
Type	Unicameral
Meeting place	Senedd, Cardiff Bay
Presiding officer	Elin Jones MS, Llywydd
Appointer	Senedd elections
Executive branch
Head of State
Title	Monarch
Currently	Charles III
Head of Government
Title	First Minister
Currently	Vaughan Gething
Appointer	Monarch
Cabinet
Name	Welsh Cabinet
Current cabinet	Gething government
Leader	First Minister
Appointer	The Monarch
Headquarters	Crown Buildings, Cathays Park, Cardiff
Ministries	30
Judicial branch
Name	Welsh law English law UK law
Civil service branch
Name	Permanent Secretary (Civil Service)
President	Andrew Goodall

This article is part of a series within the Politics of the United Kingdom on the
Politics of Wales
The Crown The Monarch Charles III Heir Apparent William, Prince of Wales Prerogative Royal family Succession Privy Council King-in-Parliament Lord-lieutenant Llwynywermod England and Wales Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 Principality of Wales Welsh republicanism
Government Welsh Government Gething government (list) First Minister (list) Rt Hon Vaughan Gething MS (L) Cabinet Civil Service Welsh Budget Taxation Directorates Sponsored bodies State-owned enterprises Crown Buildings, Cathays Park Counsel General – Mick Antoniw MS (L) Chief Whip and Trefnydd – Jane Hutt MS (L) Permanent Secretary International relations Internal diplomatic missions Welsh Government international offices
Legislature Senedd Sixth Senedd Llywydd (Presiding Officer) Elin Jones MS (PC) Leader of the Opposition Andrew RT Davies MS (C) Shadow Cabinet (current) Primary legislation (list) Acts Measures Statutory instruments Members (MSs) Current members Elections (by-elections) Constituencies and electoral regions First Minister's Questions Senedd Commissioner for Standards Devolution referendum (2011 referendum) Government of Wales Act 1998 2006 Act 2014 Act 2017 Act Senedd estate, Cardiff Bay (Senedd building Tŷ Hywel Pierhead Building)
Wales and the United Kingdom HM Government Starmer ministry Prime Minister Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP (L) Secretary of State for Wales Rt Hon Jo Stevens MP (L) UK Parliament 59th Parliament House of Commons Wales Office Under-Secretary Welsh Grand Committee Welsh Affairs Select Committee Interministerial Standing Committee Government of Wales Act 2006 Elections Constituencies Current Westminster MPs Diplomatic missions Barnett formula Devolution Devolved matters Reserved matters Legislative consent motion Unionism Independence Politics of the United Kingdom
Law and justice Welsh law English law Wales-only laws Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 Wales and Berwick Act 1746 Capital of Wales: Cardiff Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Courts of England and Wales President of Welsh Tribunals Police forces Police and crime commissioner (list)
Local administration History Subdivisions of Wales Historic counties (list) Preserved counties (list) Principal areas (list) Former districts list pre-1973 list 1974-1996 Communities (list) Local government Principal councils (leader list) Corporate Joint Committees Cities (list) Cardiff (Mayor / Council) Swansea (Mayor / Council) Newport (Mayor / Council) Wrexham (Mayor / Council) Community council (list) Communities with city status Bangor St Asaph St Davids Local twinning see also: Regional terms and Regional economy
Elections and referendums Senedd elections 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 2021 Next United Kingdom Parliament elections 1801 co-option 1802 1806 1807 1812 1818 1820 1826 1830 1831 1832 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 1910 (Jan) 1910 (Dec) 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 (Feb) 1974 (Oct) 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017 2019 2024 European Parliament elections (1979–2020) 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 Local elections 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1999 2004 2008 2012 2017 2022 Police and crime commissioner elections 2012 2016 2021 Referendums 1975 1979 1997 2011 2011 2016 1915–16 Anglican border polls 2004 Ceredigion mayoral Senedd constituencies and electoral regions UK parliamentary constituencies in Wales Political parties Represented in the Senedd (Labour Conservatives Plaid Cymru Liberal Democrats) Think tanks
Category Wales portal Other countries
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Politics 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 (UK).

Constitutionally, the United Kingdom is a unitary state with one sovereign parliament delegating power to the devolved national parliaments, with some executive powers divided between governments. Under a system of devolution adopted in the late 1990s three of the four countries of the United Kingdom, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, voted for limited self-government, subject to the ability of the UK Parliament in Westminster, nominally at will, to amend, change, broaden or abolish the national governmental systems. As such, the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; Welsh: Senedd Cymru) is not de jure sovereign. Since then, further Welsh devolution has granted the Senedd additional powers.

Executive power in the United Kingdom is vested in the King-in-Council, while legislative power is vested in the King-in-Parliament (the Crown and the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster in London). The Government of Wales Act 1998 established devolution in Wales, and certain executive and legislative powers have been constitutionally delegated to the Welsh Parliament. The scope of these powers has been further widened by the Government of Wales Act 2006, Wales Act 2014 and Wales Act 2017.