Senedd Reform: From Aspiration to Cold‐Headed Reality?

Abstract In May 2024, the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill completed its legislative journey through the Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament. The bill marks the latest chapter in the Senedd's evolution from an assembly established with no formally separated executive branch and no primary legislative powers into a lawmaking and tax‐raising parliament. It also marks the culmination of a long‐running debate about the size of the Welsh legislature. For at least twenty years there had appeared to be a broad agreement that the Senedd was too small, its capacity too thinly spread and that a larger membership of at least eighty, but closer to ninety or 100, members was required. In those respects, the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill can be seen as the culmination of that long‐established consensus. However, as this article will explore, in one key area—the choice of electoral system—the bill marks a key point of departure.