Campaign group welcomes use of Welsh-only names for Senedd constituencies

Stephen Price

A Welsh language campaign group has welcomed the Commission for Democracy and Boundaries Cymru’s intention to use Welsh-only names for the majority of the new constituencies in Wales.

Cymdeithas yr Iaith has praised the move from the Senedd, arguing that we need to normalise the use of our indigenous words and place names, whilst also encouraging the Senedd to do the same with 'the exceptions that persist' i.e. the four names that have been given bracketed English name translations.

The Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru published revised proposals for Wales’ new Senedd constituencies today (17 December).

The Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act instructs the Commission to make recommendations for 16 constituencies to replace the current 40 constituencies and 5 regions.

These new constituencies will take effect automatically at the 2026 Senedd election, and 6 Members of the Senedd will be elected from each one, using the D’Hondt method currently used for the Senedd’s regional lists.

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Paired

The Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru has had to create 16 constituencies by pairing Wales’ 32 UK parliamentary constituencies, ensuring that each constituency neighbours the one with which it is paired.

The 16 constituencies proposed by the Commission are:

Bangor Conwy Môn
Clwyd
Fflint Wrecsam
Gwynedd Maldwyn
Ceredigion Penfro
Sir Gâr
Gorllewin Abertawe Gŵyr (Swansea West Gower)
De Powys Tawe Nedd (South Powys Tawe Neath)
Afan Ogwr Rhondda
Merthyr Cynon Taf
Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni
Mynwy Torfaen
Casnewydd Islwyn
De-ddwyrain Caerdydd Penarth (Cardiff South-east Penarth)
Gogledd-orllewin Caerdydd (Cardiff North-west)
Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg

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Changes

The Commission has, in response elected to change the proposed configuration of constituencies in the Cardiff area, and has made significant changes to its proposed names.

3,700 responses were received during the initial consultation period, many of which expressed general disagreement or agreement with the initial proposals, and many discussed matters outside of the scope of the review.

However, the Commission says it also received hundreds of valuable suggestions from the public and stakeholders which have helped shape the revised proposals.

The Commission considers that constituencies should only be thought of as "contiguous" or neighbouring if it is possible to travel throughout it without having to leave the constituency.

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"Natural"

For example, the Commission did not consider Ynys Môn and Dwyfor Meirionnydd to be a viable proposal since it is not possible to travel from one to the other by road without having to enter Bangor Aberconwy.

Local ties, such as shared history, the Welsh language, and socio-economic considerations were also deliberated in an attempt to propose constituencies which feel as natural as possible to people across Wales.

The Commission says it does not consider the impact of its proposals on future election results.

Having published its revised proposals, the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru has also opened a final 4-week consultation to seek the views of people across Wales.

The Commission says it is keen to understand whether there is public support for these revised proposals or whether people feel that their parliamentary constituency should instead be paired with a different constituency.

"Significant step"

Chief Executive of the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru, Shereen Williams MBE OStJ said: "These Revised Proposals represent a significant step on the journey to creating Wales’s new constituencies.

"The Commission would like to thank the thousands of people who responded to the Initial Consultation, and invites everyone with a view on these proposals to let the Commission know their thoughts before 13 January 2025.

"The rules in place for this review mean that certain proposals can’t be changed, but following the feedback we received from the public, we have made significant adjustments to the proposed names, as well as changing the configuration of constituencies in the Cardiff area.

"The Commission remains open to making further changes, depending on the representations we receive during this consultation, so we urge everyone to share their views before 13 January 2025."

The revised consultation period closes on 13 January, and the Commission will publish its final decisions report at the end of March 2025.

Welcome

Siân Howys, Vice-Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith, said: "We are pleased to see the proposals that the vast majority of the Senedd’s constituencies will have Welsh-only names from now on.

"Welsh is the unique national language of Wales, and we should be proud of it, use it and promote it so that seeing and hearing Welsh words and placenames becomes normal.

"We will continue to press in our response to the new proposals for also using the Welsh language for the four current exceptions - in Caerdydd and Abertawe.

"It would be possible to give names that do not include compass directions, so that they do not need to be translated, for example Gwyr-Tawe instead of Swansea West Gower."