Welsh parliament and government Flashcards
What electoral system does Wales have?
AMS
How many Welsh MPs are there?
60
How many members are elected via FPTP?
40
How are the other 20 members not elected via FPTP chosen?
They are elected in five multi member regions using the closed list PR system
What does the Welsh government do?
Formulates and implements policy
When did the Welsh government become separate to the Welsh assembly?
2007
Who heads the government and appoints the cabinet?
The first minister, this is usually the leader of the largest party in the Senedd
Who has been first minister since 2018?
Labour’s Mark Drakeford
Who has been in power since the first elections in 1999?
Labour, but they have engaged in coalitions with the Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru
What has the government arrangement been since the 2021 elections?
Labour and Plaid Cymru made a cooperation agreement but did not form a coalition
What did the Wales Act 2017 do?
Moved to a system of primary legislative authority similar to Wales
What type of powers does did the Senedd have initially?
Executive and secondary legislative, which meant that they could implement legislation on Welsh matters that had been passed by Westminster
What did the 2006 government of Wales Act do?
Allowed the assembly to gain primary legislative powers if approved in a referendum
What was the result of the 2011 devolution election?
64% voted in favour of extending revolution
How many Welsh voters supported independence as of 2021?
30%
What did the coalition government create to consider the devolution of further powers to Wales?
The Silk Commission
What did the 2014 Wales Act do?
Implemented the first tranche of Silk Commission suggestions by devolving devolving control of landfill tax and stamp duty
What did the 2017 Wales Act do?
- Delivered on proposals made in a second Silk commission
- It specified a list of reserved Westminster
- Gave Wales control of income tax by 10 pence in the pound
- Paved the way for assembly to change its name
- Made the Senedd and Welsh parliament features of the UK constitution
What did the 1998 Government of Wales Act do?
Set up an elected Welsh National Assembly and a Welsh executive to be to be drawn from the largest party in the assembly and to be headed up by a first minister
Why was the Welsh government financially dependant upon Westminster?
They relied on a grant from the UK government as they had no means of raising finances
Why was the coalition government important in the extension of Welsh devolution?
Because decentralisation was a big part of the Lib Dem manifesto
What was the outcome of the 2011 referendum on extending Welsh devolution?
63.5% of voters supported
State the five main provisions of the 2017 Government Act
- Removed the requirement for devolution of taxation to be approved by a referendum
- Ability to vary income tax by 10p in the pound
- Greater freedom in borrowing
- Transferred legislative and administrative authority for more areas
- Created the Welsh Revenue Authority to collect Welsh taxes
