Proposed Senedd constituency names divides opinion

Revised plans for new, bigger, Welsh Parliament constituencies have been revealed after a public consultation.

The Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru has proposed 16 constituencies by pairing Wales’ 32 UK parliamentary constituencies with a selected neighbour.

In choosing the new boundaries, the Commission said it considered local ties such as shared history, the Welsh language and socio-economic considerations in a bid to create constituencies which feel "as natural as possible" to people across Wales.

The 16 constituencies proposed by the Commission:

• 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

After an initial consultation period, which saw more than 3,700 responses, the Commission has made significant changes to its proposed names.

The majority of the new constituency names are in Welsh - which has received mixed reaction.

Campaign group Cymdeithas yr Iaith (Welsh Language Society) has welcomed the Welsh-only names and encourages the Commission to go a step further.

Siân Howys, Vice-Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith, said: "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."

But the move has been blasted as a way to "disenfranchise English-only speakers" by former Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies MS.

He said: "This move is quite wrong. While it may suit some parts of Wales to have Welsh-only names, places like the Vale of Glamorgan and Bridgend are majority English-speaking and the constituency names should reflect this."

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

The Commission 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.

The Commission also looks forward to hearing the public’s views on the much-changed proposed constituency names.

Shereen Williams, Chief Executive of the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru, 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 with the final decisions report to be published at the end of March 2025.

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