How will the Closed Proportional List System impact the Senedd 2026 election?
May 2026 in Wales will be fascinating to watch for many reasons, but most importantly, because it is a chance for British voters to see how a completely different electoral system will influence the make-up of the government. The Closed Proportional List system that the Senedd is adopting allows those parties with broad but perhaps shallow support, such as Reform UK, the Wales Green Party and Plaid Cymru, to make significant gains where under FPTP they would have been hampered by never reaching a majority. Smaller parties have clearly thought carefully about this chance and have tailored their manifestos to try and gain those crucial seats in the Senedd.
What do the minor parties in Wales stand for?
Gwlad: ‘Wales Can Be Better’
Gwlad is a Welsh Nationalist Party aiming for Welsh independence. Similarly to Propel, the manifesto promises to put the nation’s interests first, implying that self-interest is dominant in the current Senedd establishment. Within the manifesto they publish both policies that they would adopt in the short term whilst in the Senedd but also policies for if they chieved their aim of Welsh independence. They are socially conservative, against the ‘Nation of Sanctuary’ initiative and against the concept of ‘net-zero’ as they wish to be able to use Wales’s mineral resources and current British policies impede this. As part of their aim to create Welsh independence they would lower taxes on Welsh businesses to stimulate investment.
Propel: ‘We Mean Business, People Before Politics’
Propel is a Welsh Nationalist Party that was formed in 2020 and was originally a pressure group advocating for independence. It currently does not have any sitting MSs but has a local councillor. In its ‘Contract With Wales,’ (Propel 2026) it promises significant electoral reform, including a directly elected Welsh leader and greater levels of direct democracy. It promises greater transparency in public spending and wants to reduce bureaucracy within the Welsh Government. The manifesto is socially conservative and broadly libertarian, promising to protect civil liberties and is against policies such as digital ID. They also focus heavily on healthcare and the NHS within the manifesto. Its economic policies focus on building Welsh business, reindustrialising Wales and using the mineral resources in Wales.
Heritage: ‘Freedom, Family, Nation’
The Heritage Party is a socially conservative party that is libertarian in its views on freedom of speech, right to privacy and government oversight. They ‘reject multiculturalism,’ (Heritage, 2026) and instead aim to ‘promote a unifying British culture based on our indigenous customs, traditions and Christian principles,’ (Heritage, 2026). They promise to cut or significantly reduce many taxes, including corporation tax and to bring greater sovereignty to British regulatory powers by cutting ties with organisations such as the WHO. They, like Gwlad, Reform UK and Propel, want to focus on reindustrialisation and utilising extant coal reserves, which would mean greater employment in Wales given its geology.
Ultimately, the themes are largely similar across these smaller parties regardless of political leaning. It is clear that they all think that the key issues in Wales are the cost of living, housing prices, water pollution and, above all, improving the NHS. All parties across the spectrum promise to tackle these core issues, but in different ways. It is also evident, that several parties are trying to capitalise on the perception that those in Westminster are neglecting the needs of the Welsh, building on the perennial ‘us vs them’ narrative that tends to be used to attack incumbent or traditional parties. Whether these tactics, combined with the new electoral system are effective enough to break Labour’s historical hold on Welsh politics remains to be seen.