Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party

The Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party (Welsh: Plaid Diddymu Cynulliad Cymru) is a registered single issue political party that campaign for the abolition of the Senedd Cymru, the devolved legislature of Wales, instead favouring no devolved Welsh Parliament in Wales and powers returned to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, where Wales is currently represented by 40 out of 650 seats. The party, in its latest guise, has been registered with the Electoral Commission since January 2021.

Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party

Welsh: Plaid Diddymu Cynulliad Cymru
LeaderRichard Suchorzewski
FoundedJuly 2015 (2015-07)
HeadquartersPen-Y-Lan
Tregoyd
LD3 0SS[1]
IdeologyWelsh Parliament abolition
Colours  Dark red   and red
Slogan#savewales
Senedd Cymru
2 / 60
[2]
Local government in Wales
1 / 1,253
[3]
Website
www.abolishthewelshassembly.co.uk

The Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party was launched in Wales in 2015 and has never had a candidate elected directly to the Welsh Parliament, but has gained two members through defections, along with one member of local government.

History

The Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party was formally registered with the Electoral Commission in July 2015[4] and was publicly launched in November 2015. Its sole stated aim is the abolition of Senedd Cymru / the Welsh Parliament, formerly known as the National Assembly for Wales. The party nominated candidates for each of the regional lists in the 2016 Assembly elections, winning 4.4% of the regional vote and returned no seats.[5] It did not contest any constituency seats.

Former UKIP leadership candidate Richard Suchorzewski stood in the 2019 Newport West by-election, the first time the party had nominated a candidate for a Westminster seat. Suchorzewski stated that his main aim was to raise awareness of the party's message.[6] He campaigned on the single issue of the Welsh Assembly, claiming it was "a waste of money" and "an unnecessary tier of politics". Suchorzewski had previously stood for the Conservative Party and then for UKIP, at one point standing for leadership of UKIP against Nigel Farage.[6]

Lee Canning, deputy chair of the Welsh Conservatives, defected to the party in November 2019, claiming that his former party were not doing enough to maintain the unity of the UK.[7] Canning aims to stand "in a key target seat" in the 2021 Senedd election. In May 2020, Powys councillor Claire Mills quit the Welsh Conservatives and joined the party for similar reasons, becoming the party's first representative in Welsh local government.[8]

Richard Suchorzewski became the new leader of the Party in June 2020. Later in the same month Gareth Bennett, the former leader of the UKIP Senedd group and Independent MS, joined the party along with former Brexit Parliamentary candidates Cameron Edwards and Richard Taylor.[9][10][11]

In October 2020, a second member of the Welsh Parliament, Mark Reckless, joined the party. Reckless, who was previously the Leader of the Brexit Party in Wales, stated, "Most of the people who supported the Brexit party - two thirds - said they wanted to abolish the Assembly or Senedd and I think those people deserve to be represented in politics."[12]

In November 2020, the Electoral Commission removed the party from the register of political parties. The party's former leader, David Bevan, had fallen out with the party and did not renew the party's registration.[13] Instead, he submitted a rival Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party for registration with himself as the leader, claiming this party would be fielding candidates in the next Senedd election.[14] A spokesman for the original party was quoted opposing the registration, warning Bevan against "stealing the party like a thief in the night."[14] This was resolved when the Electoral Commission, in January 2021, rejected the registration of the second party saying, "We have rejected the second application on the basis that when a party is deregistered, its name is protected for a period of time by law. This means that during this time only the previously registered party can apply to use that name."[15]

In January 2021, Abolish was reinstated on the Electoral Register[15] by the Electoral Commission. Suchorzewski said he "[looked] forward to naming candidates to stand for Abolish in the Welsh Assembly/Senedd elections due on 6th May - or later if it's postponed due to the other parties running scared and delaying the election as far into the future as possible. We believe there are safe election solutions, however whenever the election is called we shall be ready."[15]

Electoral performance

Senedd Cymru elections
Election # of List vote % of List vote # of overall seats won +/- Position Outcome Notes
2016 44,286 4.4 (#6)
0 / 60
 0 N/A Not in Assembly

See also

References
  1. "We are committed to getting rid of the Welsh Assembly". Abolish The Welsh Assembly.
  2. Masters, Adrian (19 October 2020). "Mark Reckless confirms he's switched to anti-devolution 'Abolish' party". ITV News.
  3. "Your Councillors by Party". Powys.gov. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  4. Registration:Abolish The Welsh Assembly Party, Electoral Commission. Retrieved 2 May 2016
  5. "Wales Election 2016: Constituencies & Regions". BBC News. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  6. Craig, Ian (22 February 2019). "Party dedicated to abolishing the Welsh Assembly will run in Newport West by-election". South Wales Argus.
  7. "Top Tory Lee Canning quits to join anti-Assembly party". itv.com. 19 November 2019.
  8. Masters, Adrian (13 May 2020). "Conservative councillor defects to anti-devolution party". ITV News. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  9. Masters, Adrian (24 June 2020). "First Senedd Member for party which wants to abolish the Welsh Parliament". ITV News. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  10. "A Member of the Senedd has joined the Abolish the Assembly party". Wales Online. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  11. "Ex-UKIP Senedd leader Gareth Bennett joins anti-devolution party". BBC. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  12. Craig, Ian (19 October 2020). "Mark Reckless joins the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  13. "Abolish Welsh Assembly party 'to be struck off electoral register'". 3 November 2020 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  14. "Abolish Welsh Assembly ex-leader accused of bid to 'steal' the party". 23 November 2020 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  15. "Ex-Abolish the Assembly leader fails to keep party name". BBC News. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
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