Leader of the Opposition in Wales

In the Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament, the office of Leader of the Opposition (Welsh: Arweinydd yr Wrthblaid) is held by the leader of the largest party group not in government. Since 24 January 2021, the current office holder has been Andrew R. T. Davies following the resignation of Paul Davies the following day.[2] To date the office has been held by six individuals, three from Plaid Cymru and three from the Welsh Conservatives. Only one, Ieuan Wyn Jones, has gone on to serve in the Welsh Government.

Leader of the Opposition in the Senedd
Incumbent Andrew R. T. Davies since 24 January 2021
Style	Member of the Senedd (MS)
Term length	While leader of the largest political party not in government
Inaugural holder	Dafydd Wigley
Formation	May 1999
Salary	£13,578 + £1,044 per group member (up to £37,601) in addition to £66,847 AM's salary [1]

History

Between July 2007 and May 2011, Nick Bourne served as Leader of the Opposition, even though the Conservatives were the third largest group in the Assembly. This was a result of the Welsh Government's consisting of Labour and Plaid Cymru, which were the largest and second largest groups respectively.

Following the 2016 election, Plaid Cymru (led by Leanne Wood) became the largest group not in government, having won 12 seats to the Welsh Conservatives' 11. On 14 October 2016 Dafydd Elis-Thomas left Plaid Cymru to sit as an independent, which resulted in Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Conservatives' both holding 11 seats. During this period Leanne Wood was not referred to as Leader of the Opposition but was instead referred to as the leader of Plaid Cymru.[3] The Conservative group grew to 12 following Mark Reckless's defection from UKIP to the Conservative Group on 6 April 2017, and Andrew R. T. Davies was once again referred to as Leader of the Opposition.[4] The office was vacant following Paul Davies’ resignation as leader of the Welsh Conservatives on the 23 January 2021 after he could of broken COVID regulations.[5] There was a short discussion between Conservative Members of the Senedd the following day where they gave there unanimous support for Andrew RT Davies to become leader.[2]

List of Leaders of the Opposition in the Senedd

No.		Portrait	Name (Birth–Death) Constituency/Title	Term of office		Political party	First Minister
	1		Dafydd Wigley (1943–) AM for Caernarfon	12 May 1999	16 March 2000	Plaid Cymru	Alun Michael Rhodri Morgan
	2		Ieuan Wyn Jones (1949–) AM for Ynys Môn	16 March 2000	11 July 2007	Plaid Cymru	Rhodri Morgan
	3		Nick Bourne (1952–) AM for Mid and West Wales	11 July 2007	6 May 2011	Conservative	Rhodri Morgan Carwyn Jones
	–		Paul Davies Acting (1969–) MS for Preseli Pembrokeshire	6 May 2011	14 July 2011	Conservative	Carwyn Jones
	4		Andrew R. T. Davies (1968–) MS for South Wales Central	14 July 2011	5 May 2016	Conservative
	5		Leanne Wood (1971–) MS for Rhondda	5 May 2016	14 October 2016[6]	Plaid Cymru
Not in use 14 Oct 2016 – 6 April 2017 During this period both Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Conservatives were tied on 11 seats each. Leanne Wood was not referred to as Leader of the Opposition during this period and was instead referred to as leader of Plaid Cymru.[7] The Conservative group grew to 12 following Mark Reckless's defection from UKIP to the Conservatives on 6 April, and Andrew R. T. Davies was referred to as Leader of the Opposition once more.[8]
	(4)		Andrew R. T. Davies (1968–) MS for South Wales Central	6 April 2017	27 June 2018	Conservative
	6		Paul Davies (1969–) MS for Preseli Pembrokeshire	27 June 2018 [9]	23 January 2021	Conservative	Carwyn Jones Mark Drakeford
	(4)		Andrew R. T. Davies (1968–) MS for South Wales Central	24 January 2021[2]	Incumbent	Conservative	Mark Drakeford

See also

• Welsh Shadow Cabinet
• First Minister of Wales
• Deputy First Minister for Wales
• Welsh Government

References

1. Determination on Members’ Pay and Allowances 2018 — 2019 Point 3.1.4 Table 1
2. "Andrew RT Davies returns as Welsh Conservatives leader". BBC News. 2021-01-24. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
3. http://www.assembly.wales/en/bus-home/pages/rop.aspx?meetingid=3998&language=en&assembly=5&c=Record%20of%20Proceedings&startDt=14/10/2016&endDt=28/10/2016
4. http://www.assembly.wales/en/bus-home/pages/rop.aspx?meetingid=4284&language=en&assembly=5&c=Record%20of%20Proceedings&startDt=11/04/2017&endDt=02/05/2017
5. "Tory Senedd leader Paul Davies quits over alcohol row". BBC News. 2021-01-23. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
6. The day Dafydd Elis-Thomas left Plaid Cymru to sit as an independent AM.
7. http://www.assembly.wales/en/bus-home/pages/rop.aspx?meetingid=3998&language=en&assembly=5&c=Record%20of%20Proceedings&startDt=14/10/2016&endDt=28/10/2016
8. http://www.assembly.wales/en/bus-home/pages/rop.aspx?meetingid=4284&language=en&assembly=5&c=Record%20of%20Proceedings&startDt=11/04/2017&endDt=02/05/2017
9. Served as acting leader from 27 June to 6 September 2018.