Government in Wales

One thing you can say about Welsh people is that we aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo, and that’s certainly proved true with our system of government. The way Wales is governed has changed dramatically since the early 1990s.

Wales is a self-governing constituent country of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (or the UK for short). Wales, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland make up the UK. The UK is one of the 27 member states of the European Union, and is also a member of many other international organisations such as, for example, the United Nations.

In September 1997, the people of Wales voted in favour of establishing a National Assembly. The Assembly itself came into being following elections in 1999 and met for the first time on 12th May 1999.

The National Assembly for Wales meets in Cardiff, Wales' capital city. For the first time, an elected Welsh political body that meets in Wales takes decisions affecting Wales. It is made up of 60 elected Assembly Members (AMs), and from this membership the Ministers who form the Assembly Government are drawn. It is the Welsh Assembly Government, made up of 9 Ministers and headed by the First Minister, which has responsibility for policy and budget priorities in Wales, scrutinised by the other AMs. The First Minister for Wales is Rt Hon Rhodri Morgan AM.

Wales elects 40 Members to the House of Commons (Members of Parliament or MPs), the lower chamber of UK Parliament, as well as being represented in the upper chamber, the House of Lords. The UK Government is made up of Ministers and Secretaries of State drawn from the membership of Parliament. There are areas of policy for Wales that are still the responsibility of the UK Government. The Secretary of State for Wales represents Welsh interests and is a member of the Cabinet of the UK Government. The Secretary of State for Wales is Mr Paul Murphy.

At the European level, Wales is governed by regulations produced by the European Commission and legislation produced by the European Parliament and Council of the European Union, which is made up of government ministers from the member states, such as the UK. Wales elects 4 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), which also exists to scrutinise the work of the European Commission. The European Parliament meets in Brussels, Belgium - which is also home to the European Commission - and Strasbourg in France.