Politics in Cardiff
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Politics of Cardiff refers to the political representation of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. Cardiff is represented politically at a local, Wales and United Kingdom level and previously at the European level.
Cardiff is covered by four parliamentary constituencies which form the electoral basis for elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom and the Senedd (Welsh Parliament).
The constituencies and their current representatives in the House of Commons are:
- Cardiff Central: Jo Stevens (Labour Party)[1]
- Cardiff North: Anna McMorrin (Labour Party)[2]
- Cardiff South and Penarth: Stephen Doughty (Labour Party)[3]
- Cardiff West: Kevin Brennan (Labour Party)[4]
Famous politicians who have represented Cardiff constituencies include James Callaghan, a former Prime Minister who held his constituency seat for over forty years. Rhodri Morgan a former First Minister, was previously MP for Cardiff West, as had George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy, who served as Speaker of the House of Commons between 1976 and 1983.
Senedd
The Senedd (Welsh Parliament; Welsh: Senedd Cymru; formerly known as the National Assembly for Wales) has been based in Cardiff Bay since its formation in 1999. The building which is now known as the Senedd building was opened on 1 March 2006, by the Queen. The executive and civil servants of the Welsh Government are based in Cardiff's Cathays Park while the Members of the Senedd, the Senedd Parliamentary Service and Ministerial support staff are based in Cardiff Bay. Cardiff elects four constituency Members of the Senedd (MSs) to the Welsh Parliament, with the individual constituencies for the Welsh Parliament being the same as for the UK Parliament. All of the city's residents have an extra vote for the South Wales Central region which increases proportionality to the Welsh Parliament. The most recent Welsh Parliament elections were held on 3 May 2016.
As with the United Kingdom Parliament, Cardiff is split into four constituencies:
- Cardiff Central: Jenny Rathbone (Labour)
- Cardiff North: Julie Morgan (Labour)
- Cardiff South and Penarth: Vaughan Gething (Labour)
- Cardiff West: Mark Drakeford (Labour)
The South Wales Central Senedd region elects four Members of the Senedd to serve the area covered by Cardiff, Rhondda-Cynon-Taf and the Vale of Glamorgan local authority areas. These are currently:
- Joel James (Conservative)
- Andrew R. T. Davies (Conservative)
- Rhys ab Owen (Plaid Cymru)
- Heledd Fychan (Plaid Cymru)
