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Consolidation, Not Conversion: Understanding Wales’s Ongoing Realignment

British Politics, Devolution, Elections, Labour Party, Plaid Cymru, Reform UK, Senedd, Welsh Conservatives, Welsh Elections

Consolidation, Not Conversion: Understanding Wales’s Ongoing Realignment

Posted on 17 December 2025 by Jac Larner

This is a joint post by Jac Larner (Cardiff) and James Griffiths (University of Manchester). They received substantive input from Richard Wyn Jones and Ed Gareth Poole (Cardiff), and questionnaire […]

Finance

The Welsh Government-Plaid Cymru Budget Agreement – an immediate reaction

Posted on 10 December 2025 by Guto Ifan

On Tuesday 9 December, the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru reached an agreement on the Budget for 2026-27, which will facilitate its passing through the Senedd in the new year. […]

Finance

Frozen 2: Tax Freezes, the 2-Child Limit (and what the 2025 Autumn Budget means for Wales)

Posted on 27 November 2025 by Guto Ifan

By Guto Ifan, Ed Gareth Poole and Owain Cynfab   On Wednesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her second budget, after months of speculation, briefings and uncertainty. The much-trailed worsening of […]

Finance, Uncategorized

‘Neutral’ or ‘Neutered’? Analysing the 2026-27 Welsh Government Outline Draft Budget

Posted on 15 October 2025 by Guto Ifan

Guto Ifan, Ed Gareth Poole and Owain Cynfab   On Tuesday 14 October, Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford MS unveiled an outline of the Welsh Government’s tax and spending plans for […]

 

We Need to Talk About Council Tax: The Regressive Welsh Way of Raising Taxes

Posted on 4 September 2025 by Guto Ifan

By Guto Ifan, Ed Gareth Poole and Owain Cynfab Back in April, households across Wales started paying their council tax bills for 2025-26. The average 7.3% increase in these bills […]

Spending Review 2025 – the implications for Wales

Spending Review 2025 – the implications for Wales

Posted on 12 June 2025 by Guto Ifan

By Guto Ifan, Owain Cynfab and Ed Gareth Poole  On 11 June, Chancellor Rachel Reeves outlined the UK government’s detailed spending plans. While the announcement of rail funding dominated the […]

Wales Fiscal Analysis: immediate response to rail funding announcement for Wales

Wales Fiscal Analysis: immediate response to rail funding announcement for Wales

Posted on 11 June 2025 by Guto Ifan

In the briefings prior to today’s Spending Review, the main headline for Wales in the Spending Review would be that Welsh railways would benefit from £445 million, with a briefing […]

The 2026 Senedd Election Simulator: One Year to Go

The 2026 Senedd Election Simulator: One Year to Go

Posted on 7 May 2025 by Jac Larner

This time next year, Wales holds its seventh devolved election – one that will be different from all previous contests. This election will be the first to use a new […]

Spring Statement 2025 – the implications for Wales

Spring Statement 2025 – the implications for Wales

Posted on 27 March 2025 by Guto Ifan

By Guto Ifan, Owain Roberts and Ed Gareth Poole With dark economic clouds gathering, the Chancellor decided to cut spending to meet her ‘iron-clad’ fiscal rules. This blog looks at […]

Assisted Dying: No such Bill could be introduced in Senedd Cymru, or maybe it could?

Assisted Dying: No such Bill could be introduced in Senedd Cymru, or maybe it could?

Posted on 18 February 2025 by Wales Governance Centre

Emyr Lewis, Emeritus Professor of Law at Aberystwyth University, gave evidence to the legislation committee about Wales-specific aspects of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in their last […]