5th National Assembly for Wales

5th Assembly/Senedd
5th Assembly/Senedd
	The Welsh Assembly Building (Senedd) in 2019
Overview
Legislative body	National Assembly for Wales (Senedd from 2020)
Jurisdiction	Wales, United Kingdom
Meeting place	Senedd building, Cardiff
Term	5 May 2016 – 6 May 2021
Election	2016 National Assembly for Wales election
Government	Third Jones government (2016–18); First Drakeford government (2018–21)
Opposition	Shadow Cabinet of Leanne Wood (2016); Vacant (2016–17); Second Shadow Cabinet of Andrew R. T. Davies (2017–18); Shadow Cabinet of Paul Davies (2018–21); Third Shadow Cabinet of Andrew RT Davies (2021)
Members	60
Llywydd (presiding officer)	Rosemary Butler (2016); Elin Jones (2016–21)
First Minister	Carwyn Jones (2016–18); Mark Drakeford (2018–21)

This is a list of Assembly Members (AMs; Welsh: Aelodau'r Cynulliad, ACau) elected to the fifth National Assembly for Wales at the 2016 election. In May 2020, the representatives were renamed to Members of the Senedd (MSs; Welsh: Aelodau o'r Senedd; ASau) in the fifth Senedd, they would be known as the fifth Senedd for the remainder of their term. From the 2021 election members would be elected under this new title of Senedd. There are a total of 60 members elected, 40 were elected from first past the post constituencies with a further 20 members being returned from five regions, each electing four AMs through mixed-member proportional representation. In between elections, members of the legislature may not necessarily be of the same party or the same candidate elected in 2016.

Legislative bodyNational Assembly for Wales (Senedd from 2020)

JurisdictionWales, United Kingdom

Meeting placeSenedd building, Cardiff

Term5 May 2016 – 6 May 2021

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Party		2016 election	Prior to 2021 election
•	Labour	29	29
	Plaid Cymru	12	10
	Conservative	11	10
	Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party	N/A	2
•	Liberal Democrats	1	1
	UKIP	7	1
	Propel	N/A	1
	Independent	0	3
	Independent Group for Reform	N/A	3
Total		60	60

	Assembly leader	Name	Constituency or region
Labour (29)	Carwyn Jones	Mick Antoniw	Pontypridd
		Hannah Blythyn	Delyn
		Dawn Bowden	Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney
		Jayne Bryant	Newport West
		Hefin David	Caerphilly
		Alun Davies	Blaenau Gwent
		Mark Drakeford	Cardiff West
		Rebecca Evans	Gower
		Vaughan Gething	Cardiff South and Penarth
		John Griffiths	Newport East
		Lesley Griffiths	Wrexham
		Mike Hedges	Swansea East
		Vikki Howells	Cynon Valley
		Jane Hutt	Vale of Glamorgan
		Huw Irranca-Davies	Ogmore
		Julie James	Swansea West
		Ann Jones	Vale of Clwyd
		Carwyn Jones	Bridgend
		Jeremy Miles	Neath
		Baroness Eluned Morgan	Mid and West Wales
		Julie Morgan	Cardiff North
		Lynne Neagle	Torfaen
		Rhianon Passmore	Islwyn
		Jenny Rathbone	Cardiff Central
		David Rees	Aberavon
		Carl Sargeant	Alyn and Deeside
		Ken Skates	Clwyd South
		Lee Waters	Llanelli
		Joyce Watson	Mid and West Wales
Plaid Cymru (12)	Leanne Wood	Rhun ap Iorwerth	Ynys Môn
		Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
		Siân Gwenllian	Arfon
		Llyr Huws Gruffydd	North Wales
		Bethan Jenkins	South Wales West
		Elin Jones	Ceredigion
		Steffan Lewis	South Wales East
		Dai Lloyd	South Wales West
		Neil McEvoy	South Wales Central
		Adam Price	Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
		Simon Thomas	Mid and es
		Leanne Wood	Rhondda
Conservative Party (11)	Andrew R. T. Davies	Mohammad Asghar	South Wales East
		Angela Burns	Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire
		Andrew R. T. Davies	South Wales Central
		Paul Davies	Preseli Pembrokeshire
		Suzy Davies	South Wales West
		Janet Finch-Saunders	Aberconwy
		Russell George	Montgomeryshire
		Mark Isherwood	North Wales
		David Melding	South Wales Central
		Darren Millar	Clwyd West
		Nick Ramsay	Monmouth
UKIP (7)	Nathan Gill	Gareth Bennett	South Wales Central
		Michelle Brown	North Wales
		Nathan Gill	North Wales
		Neil Hamilton	Mid and West Wales
		Caroline Jones	South Wales West
		Mark Reckless	South Wales East
		David Rowlands	South Wales East
Liberal Democrats (1)	Kirsty Williams	Kirsty Williams	Brecon and Radnorshire

Seat	Member		First elected
Aberavon	David Rees	Labour	2011
Aberconwy	Janet Finch-Saunders	Conservative	2011
Alyn and Deeside	Carl Sargeant	Labour	2003
Arfon	Siân Gwenllian	Plaid Cymru	2016
Blaenau Gwent	Alun Davies	Labour	2007
Brecon and Radnorshire	Kirsty Williams	Liberal Democrats	1999
Bridgend	Carwyn Jones	Labour	1999
Caerphilly	Hefin David	Labour	2016
Cardiff Central	Jenny Rathbone	Labour	2011
Cardiff North	Julie Morgan	Labour	2011
Cardiff South and Penarth	Vaughan Gething	Labour	2011
Cardiff West	Mark Drakeford	Labour	2011
Carmarthen East and Dinefwr	Adam Price	Plaid Cymru	2016
Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire	Angela Burns	Conservative	2007
Ceredigion	Elin Jones	Plaid Cymru	1999
Clwyd South	Ken Skates	Labour	2011
Clwyd West	Darren Millar	Conservative	2007
Cynon Valley	Vikki Howells	Labour	2016
Delyn	Hannah Blythyn	Labour	2016
Dwyfor Meirionnydd	Dafydd Elis-Thomas	Plaid Cymru	1999
Gower	Rebecca Evans	Labour	2011
Islwyn	Rhianon Passmore	Labour	2016
Llanelli	Lee Waters	Labour	2016
Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney	Dawn Bowden	Labour	2016
Monmouth	Nick Ramsay	Conservative	2007
Montgomeryshire	Russell George	Conservative	2011
Neath	Jeremy Miles	Labour	2016
Newport East	John Griffiths	Labour	1999
Newport West	Jayne Bryant	Labour	2016
Ogmore	Huw Irranca-Davies	Labour	2016
Pontypridd	Mick Antoniw	Labour	2011
Preseli Pembrokeshire	Paul Davies	Conservative	2007
Rhondda	Leanne Wood	Plaid Cymru	2003
Swansea East	Mike Hedges	Labour	2011
Swansea West	Julie James	Labour	2011
Torfaen	Lynne Neagle	Labour	1999
Vale of Clwyd	Ann Jones	Labour	1999
Vale of Glamorgan	Jane Hutt	Labour	1999
Wrexham	Lesley Griffiths	Labour	2007
Ynys Môn	Rhun ap Iorwerth	Plaid Cymru	2013

Region	Member		First elected
Mid and West Wales	Neil Hamilton	UKIP	2016
	Eluned Morgan	Labour	2016
	Simon Thomas	Plaid Cymru	2011
	Joyce Watson	Labour	2007
North Wales	Michelle Brown	UKIP	2016
	Nathan Gill	UKIP	2016
	Llŷr Gruffydd	Plaid Cymru	2011
	Mark Isherwood	Conservative	2003
South Wales Central	Gareth Bennett	UKIP	2016
	Andrew R. T. Davies	Conservative	2007
	Neil McEvoy	Plaid Cymru	2016
	David Melding	Conservative	1999
South Wales East	Mohammad Asghar	Conservative	2007
	Steffan Lewis	Plaid Cymru	2016
	Mark Reckless	UKIP	2016
	David Rowlands	UKIP	2016
South Wales West	Suzy Davies	Conservative	2011
	Bethan Jenkins	Plaid Cymru	2007
	Caroline Jones	UKIP	2016
	Dai Lloyd	Plaid Cymru	2016

Date	Member	Reason for change		Constituency/region		Notes
17 August 2016	Nathan Gill	CD	UKIP	North Wales	Independent	Left the Assembly group.^[1] He remained a member of the party and its leader in Wales, until Neil Hamilton was made Wales leader in September 2016.^[2]
14 October 2016	Dafydd Elis-Thomas	CD	Plaid Cymru	Dwyfor Meirionnydd	Independent	Quit the Plaid Cymru group on 14 October 2016. As a result of the defection, Leanne Wood lost the title of leader of the opposition. Two months later, he pledged to back the Welsh Labour-led Government, giving the new government an overall majority in the Welsh Assembly.^[3]^[4]
19 March 2018	Neil McEvoy	Suspended	Plaid Cymru	South Wales Central	Independent	Was suspended by the Plaid Cymru group after a tribunal found him guilty of bullying in his other role as a councillor for Cardiff. He was later expelled from Plaid Cymru.^[5] In February 2020 he announced that he was forming a new political party, the Welsh National Party, and that he had registered the name with the Electoral Commission. The launch of the party was planned for April 2020.^[6]^[7]
6 April 2017	Mark Reckless	CD	UKIP	South Wales East	Conservative	Upon leaving, he said, "I leave UKIP positively, having achieved our joint aim, a successful referendum to leave the EU".^[8]^[9]
3 November 2017	Carl Sargeant	Suspended	Labour	Alyn and Deeside	Independent	Sargeant was suspended from Welsh Labour following allegations about his personal conduct.^[10]
7 November 2017 - 6 February 2018	Carl Sargeant	Death	Independent	Alyn and Deeside	Labour	On 7 November 2017, Sargeant was found dead.^[11] A by-election was held in his former constituency of Alyn and Deeside on 6 February 2018 to choose a successor; this was won by the Labour candidate, his son, Jack.^[12]
27 December 2017	Nathan Gill	Resigned	Independent	North Wales	Independent	On 27 December 2017 it was announced that he had resigned as an AM.^[13] As 3rd on UKIP's list for the North Wales region, Mandy Jones was sworn in as a Member on 29 December 2017.^[14] On 9 January UKIP Wales^{[clarification needed]} announced that she would not be joining the UKIP group in the Assembly, due to employing members of other parties in her office.^[15]
25 July 2018	Simon Thomas	Resigned	Plaid Cymru	Mid and West Wales	Plaid Cymru	Thomas resigned following his arrest for possession of indecent images.^[16] Helen Mary Jones replaced Thomas as a Member in August 2018.^[17]
12 September 2018	Caroline Jones	CD	UKIP	South Wales West	Brexit Party	Resigned as a member of UKIP and from UKIP's group on 12 September 2018.^[18]
20 November 2018	Jenny Rathbone	Suspended	Labour	Cardiff Central	Independent	Suspended over remarks about Jewish people.^[19] She was later re-admitted.^[20]
9 January 2019	Jenny Rathbone	Re-admitted	Independent	Cardiff Central	Labour
11 January 2019	Steffan Lewis	Death	Plaid Cymru	South Wales East	Plaid Cymru	Died of bowel cancer on 11 January 2019 and was replaced by Delyth Jewell.^[21]
26 March 2019	Michelle Brown	CD	UKIP	North Wales	Independent	Left the UKIP group in March 2019, to sit as an independent.^[22]
14 April 2019	Mark Reckless	CD	Conservative	South Wales East	Independent	On 14 April 2019, Reckless left the Conservative Party Group over the party's failure to deliver Brexit. He then sat as an independent member.^[23]
15 May 2019	Mark Reckless	CD	Independent	South Wales East	Brexit Party	Reckless joined the new Brexit Party group in May 2019.^[24]
10 November 2019	Gareth Bennett	CD	UKIP	South Wales Central	Independent	Left the UKIP group in November 2019 to sit as an independent, leaving Neil Hamilton as the party's last remaining member on the Assembly.^[25]
2 January 2020	Nick Ramsay	Suspended	Conservative	Monmouth	Independent	Arrested on 1 January 2020 and suspended from the Conservative group the following day.^[26] He was later readmitted.
16 June 2020	Mohammad Asghar	Death	Conservative	South Wales East	Conservative	Died on 16 June 2020 and was replaced by Laura Ann Jones.^[27]
24 June 2020	Gareth Bennett	CD	Independent	South Wales Central	Abolish	Joined the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party on 24 June 2020.^[28]
15 July 2020	Nick Ramsay	Re-admitted	Independent	Monmouth	Conservative	Readmitted having been arrested on 1 January 2020 and suspended from the Conservative group the following day.^[29]
18 August 2020	Caroline Jones	CD	Brexit Party	South Wales West	Independent	Left Brexit Party and sits as Independent member from 18 August 2020 due to the newly adopted anti-devolution stance the Party had adopted.^[30]
16 October 2020	Mandy Jones	CD	Brexit Party	North Wales	Independent	Jones and Rowlands started a new independent group in the Senedd, Independent Alliance for Reform with Caroline Jones, focusing on reform rather than abolition.^[31]
16 October 2020	David Rowlands	CD	Brexit Party	South Wales East	Independent
19 October 2020	Mark Reckless	CD	Brexit Party	South Wales East	Abolish	Joined the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party on 19 October 2020.^[32]
19 January 2021	Alun Davies	Suspended	Labour	Blaenau Gwent	Independent	Suspended pending investigation after allegedly being involved in alcohol drinking on the Senedd estate, that could have broken COVID restrictions.^[33] He was later re-admitted.^[34]
23 February 2021	Alun Davies	Re-admitted	Independent	Blaenau Gwent	Labour
29 March 2021	Nick Ramsay	CD	Conservative	Monmouth	Independent	Resigned to stand as independent ahead of forthcoming election.^[35]

5th National Assembly for Wales

Composition of the Assembly (Senedd from May 2020)

Assembly members by party following 2016 election (5th Assembly)

Assembly members by constituency and region following 2016 election (5th Assembly)

Changes between elections

Government formation

Changes in composition of the Assembly (now Senedd) between elections

Senedd members by party prior to 2021 election (5th Senedd)

Senedd members elected by constituency and region prior to 2021 election (5th Senedd)

See also

References

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