The 7 May Senedd election produced the first change in the party holding the largest number of seats since devolution began.
Plaid Cymru won 43 of the enlarged 96 seats, Reform UK 34, Labour nine, Conservatives seven, Greens two and Liberal Democrats one. The vote was held under the new system of 16 six-member constituencies. No party secured the 49 seats required for an outright majority, creating a new parliamentary balance in Cardiff Bay.
Why it matters: The result deserves scrutiny beyond its winners: how representative is the new voting system, how did turnout change and what will the new Senedd mean for the scrutiny of devolved government?
