2016 National Assembly for Wales election
2016 National Assembly for Wales election Turnout 45.3% 3.1%
First party
Second party
Third party
Leader
Carwyn Jones
Leanne Wood
Andrew RT Davies
Party
Labour
Plaid Cymru
Conservative
Leader since
10 December 2009
16 March 2012
14 July 2011
Leader's seat
Bridgend
Rhondda
South Wales Central
Last election
30 seats
11 seats
14 seats
Seats won
29
12
11
Seat change
1
1
3
Constituency Vote
353,866
209,376
215,597
% and change
34.7% 7.6%
20.5% 1.2%
21.1% 3.9%
Regional Vote
319,196
211,548
190,846
% and change
31.5% 5.4%
20.8% 2.9%
18.8% 3.7%
Fourth party
Fifth party
Leader
Nathan Gill
Kirsty Williams
Party
UKIP
Liberal Democrats
Leader since
6 December 2014
8 December 2008
Leader's seat
North Wales
Brecon and Radnorshire
Last election
0 seats
5 seats
Seats won
7
1
Seat change
7
4
Constituency Vote
127,038
78,165
% and change
12.5% 12.5%
7.7% 2.9%
Regional Vote
132,138
65,504
% and change
13.0% 8.4%
6.5% 1.5%
The 2016 National Assembly for Wales election was held on Thursday 5 May 2016, to elect members (AMs) of the National Assembly for Wales, now known as the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; Welsh : Senedd Cymru ). It was the fifth election for the National Assembly, the third election taken under the rules of the Government of Wales Act 2006 and the first since the Wales Act 2014 .
The governing Labour Party 's share of the vote fell by over 7% and 29 Labour AMs were elected, one fewer than in 2011 and two short of an overall majority. Plaid Cymru became the Assembly's second largest party and the official opposition to the Welsh Government with 12 seats, one more than before. The 11 Conservative AMs were elected, three fewer than in 2011. Although they did not win a single constituency, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) had 7 members elected through the regional lists vote. The Liberal Democrats had only one AM returned, down from five.
The election was held on the same day as elections for the Scottish Parliament , the Northern Ireland Assembly , the Mayor and Assembly of London and in numerous local authorities in England . The by-election for the Westminster seat of Ogmore was also held on the same day. This election and elections to the other devolved chambers were delayed by a year from 2015 to 2016 as a result of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 .[ 1] Elections to the Welsh Assembly have now also been permanently moved to a five-year cycle under the Wales Act 2014.
Electoral method
In general elections for the National Assembly for Wales, each voter has two votes in a mixed member system . The first vote is for a candidate to become the Assembly Member for the voter's constituency, elected by the first past the post system. The second vote is for a regional closed party list of candidates. Additional member seats are allocated from the lists by the d'Hondt method , with constituency results being taken into account in the allocation. The overall result is approximately proportional .
Previously it was not allowed to stand in both a constituency and a regional list, but this rule was abolished by the Wales Act 2014 . The Act also introduced a ban on dual mandates with the House of Commons: an Assembly Member is no longer allowed also to be an MP.
British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens living in Wales aged 18 or over on election day were entitled to vote.
Retiring AMs
The following, previously incumbent AMs, did not run for re-election:
Constituency nominations
NB: AMs in office (i.e. incumbents) before the election are bolded. Winners are highlighted with party colours.
Regional lists
Opinion polls
Date(s) conducted
Polling organisation/client
Sample size
Lab
Cons
Plaid
Lib Dem
UKIP
Others
Lead
5 May 2016
Assembly election (constituency)
1,013,383
34.7%
20.5%
21.1%
7.7%
12.5%
2.8%
13.6%
19–22 Apr 2016
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,001
33%
19%
21%
8%
15%
3%
12%
7–11 Apr 2016
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,011
35%
19%
21%
6%
17%
3%
14%
7–18 Mar 2016
Welsh Election Study/Economic & Social Research Council
3,272
34%
22%
21%
6%
15%
3%
12%
9–11 Feb 2016
YouGov/Welsh Political Barometer
TBA
34%
22%
19%
5%
18%
2%
12%
30 Nov–4 Dec 2015
YouGov/Welsh Political Barometer
1,005
35%
23%
20%
5%
15%
2%
12%
21–24 Sep 2015
YouGov/Welsh Political Barometer
1,010
39%
23%
18%
6%
13%
1%
16%
24–26 Jun 2015
YouGov/Welsh Political Barometer
1,151
35%
23%
20%
4%
15%
4%
12%
4–6 May 2015
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,202
35%
22%
21%
6%
12%
3%
13%
5–9 Mar 2015
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,279
37%
22%
20%
6%
11%
5%
15%
19–21 Jan 2015
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,036
34%
21%
18%
7%
13%
7%
13%
2–5 Dec 2014
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,131
35%
22%
19%
6%
12%
6%
13%
8–11 Sep 2014
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,025
36%
21%
19%
6%
12%
6%
15%
26 Jun–1 Jul 2014
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,035
39%
20%
19%
8%
13%
5%
19%
11–22 Apr 2014
YouGov/IPPR, Cardiff University, Edinburgh University
1,027
41%
21%
20%
8%
7%
2%
20%
10–12 Feb 2014
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,250
42%
21%
19%
9%
5%
3%
21%
2–4 Dec 2013
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,001
43%
19%
20%
9%
7%
3%
23%
18–22 Jul 2013
YouGov/Elections in Wales Blog
1,012
47%
19%
17%
8%
6%
3%
28%
28 Feb 2013
2013 Ynys Môn by-election
18–20 Feb 2013
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,007
46%
21%
17%
10%
5%
2%
25%
5 May 2011
National Assembly for Wales election, 2011 (constituency)
949,252
42.3%
25.0%
19.3%
10.6%
N/A
2.8%
17.3%
Date(s) conducted
Polling organisation/client
Sample size
Lab
Cons
Plaid
Lib Dem
UKIP
Green
Others
Lead
5 May 2016
Assembly election (regional)
1,005,541
31.5%
18.8%
20.8%
6.5%
13%
3%
6.5%
10.7%
19–22 Apr 2016
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,001
29%
19%
22%
8%
15%
4%
3%
7%
7–11 Apr 2016
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,011
31%
20%
20%
5%
16%
4%
3%
11%
7–18 Mar 2016
Welsh Election Study/Economic & Social Research Council
3,272
31%
22%
22%
5%
14%
4%
3%
9%
9–11 Feb 2016
YouGov/Welsh Political Barometer
TBA
31%
22%
19%
4%
18%
3%
3%
9%
30 Nov–4 Dec 2015
YouGov/Welsh Political Barometer
1,005
34%
23%
18%
4%
16%
4%
2%
11%
21–24 Sep 2015
YouGov/Welsh Political Barometer
1,010
34%
24%
18%
5%
14%
4%
2%
10%
24–26 Jun 2015
YouGov/Welsh Political Barometer
1,151
32%
22%
20%
5%
14%
4%
3%
10%
4–6 May 2015
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,202
32%
22%
20%
6%
13%
3%
1%
10%
5–9 Mar 2015
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,279
33%
22%
21%
5%
12%
5%
2%
11%
19–21 Jan 2015[ fn 1]
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,036
32%
20%
15%
8%
16%
8%
2%
12%
2–5 Dec 2014
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,131
31%
20%
19%
6%
15%
7%
2%
11%
8–11 Sep 2014
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,025
31%
21%
16%
5%
17%
7%
3%
10%
26 Jun–1 Jul 2014
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,035
34%
21%
18%
5%
16%
4%
3%
13%
12–14 May 2014
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,092
35%
19%
17%
7%
14%
6%
2%
16%
11–22 Apr 2014
YouGov/IPPR, Cardiff University, Edinburgh University
1,027
37%
21%
19%
7%
10%
4%
2%
16%
10–12 Feb 2014
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,250
39%
19%
17%
9%
10%
6%
20%
2–4 Dec 2013
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,001
40%
19%
15%
9%
10%
7%
21%
18–22 Jul 2013
YouGov/Elections in Wales Blog
1,012
25%
12%
23%
9%
16%
14%
2%
28 Feb 2013
2013 Ynys Môn by-election
18–20 Feb 2013
YouGov/ITV Wales
1,007
26%
14%
26%
8%
13%
6%
7%
Tie
5 May 2011
National Assembly for Wales election, 2011 (regional)
949,388
36.9%
22.5%
17.9%
8.0%
4.6%
3.4%
6.7%
14.4%
Results
2016 Welsh Assembly election
Parties
Additional member system
Total seats
Constituency
Region
Votes
%
+/−
Seats
+/−
Votes
%
+/−
Seats
+/−
Total
+/−
%
Labour
353,866
34.7
7.6
27
1
319,196
31.5
5.4
2
29
1
48.3
Plaid Cymru
209,376
20.5
1.3
6
1
211,548
20.8
2.9
6
12
1
20.0
Conservative
215,597
21.1
3.9
6
190,846
18.8
3.7
5
3
11
3
18.3
UKIP
127,038
12.5
N/A
0
132,138
13.0
8.4
7
7
7
7
11.7
Liberal Democrats
78,165
7.7
2.9
1
65,504
6.5
1.5
0
4
1
4
1.7
Abolish
—
—
—
—
—
44,286
4.4
N/A
0
0
0.0
Green
25,202
2.5
2.3
0
30,211
3.0
0.4
0
0
0.0
Monster Raving Loony
—
—
—
—
—
5,743
0.6
0.5
0
0
0.0
Association of Welsh Independents
—
—
—
—
—
2,897
0.3
N/A
0
0
0.0
Women's Equality
—
—
—
—
—
2,807
0.3
N/A
0
0
0.0
Communist
—
—
—
—
—
2,452
0.2
0.1
0
0
0.0
TUSC
—
—
—
—
—
2,040
0.2
0
0
0.0
Independent
8,670
0.9
0.4
0
1,577
0.2
0.1
0
0
0.0
People First
—
—
—
—
—
1,496
0.1
N/A
0
0
0.0
Welsh Christian
—
—
—
—
—
1,103
0.1
0.8
0
0
0.0
Others
1,469
0.1
1.2
0
899
0.1
5.1
0
0
0.0
Votes summary
Popular Vote
Labour
31.5%
Plaid Cymru
20.8%
Conservative
18.8%
UKIP
13.0%
Liberal Democrats
6.5%
Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party
4.4%
Green
3.0%
Other
2.0%
Assembly seats
Labour
48.3%
Plaid Cymru
20.0%
Conservative
18.3%
UKIP
11.7%
Liberal Democrats
1.7%
New members
23 of the members elected to the Assembly in the election were not members of the previous Assembly.
Constituency
Hannah Blythyn , Labour , Delyn
Dawn Bowden , Labour , Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney
Rhianon Passmore , Labour , Islwyn
Jayne Bryant , Labour , Newport West
Vikki Howells , Labour , Cynon Valley
Jeremy Miles , Labour , Neath
Hefin David , Labour , Caerphilly
Lee Waters , Labour , Llanelli
Huw Irranca-Davies , Labour , Ogmore
Adam Price , Plaid Cymru , Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
Siân Gwenllian , Plaid Cymru , Arfon
Rebecca Evans , Labour , Gower
Regional
Nathan Gill , UKIP , North Wales electoral region
Michelle Brown , UKIP , North Wales electoral region
Mark Reckless , UKIP , South Wales East electoral region
David Rowlands , UKIP , South Wales East electoral region
Steffan Lewis , Plaid Cymru , South Wales East electoral region
Caroline Jones , UKIP , South Wales West electoral region
Dai Lloyd , Plaid Cymru , South Wales West electoral region
Neil Hamilton , UKIP , Mid and West Wales electoral region
Eluned Morgan , Labour , Mid and West Wales electoral region
Gareth Bennett , UKIP , South Wales Central electoral region
Neil McEvoy , Plaid Cymru , South Wales Central electoral region
Constituency and regional summary
Constituency results of the 2016 Welsh Assembly election by party vote strength.
Mid and West Wales
North Wales
South Wales Central
South Wales East
South Wales West
Aftermath
Election of the First Minister
Ballot →
11 May 2016
18 May 2016
Required majority →
30 out of 58 N
N/A Y
Unopposed
Withdrew
Sources[ 25] [ 26]
See also
Notes
^ Seat estimates are based on constituency and regional poll.
References
External links