The New Senedd Cymru

On Wednesday 6th May 2020 the National Assembly for Wales will officially become known as the Senedd Cymru / Welsh Parliament. This was as a result of the passing of the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020. The date was fixed for a year before the 2021 Senedd elections.

Assembly Members are now known as Members of the Senedd, and the suffix MS should now be used instead of AM.

There was some controversy during the choosing of the new name, with some preferring the bilingual Welsh Parliament / Senedd Cymru and others preferring the Welsh-only name of Senedd. Presiding Officer Elin Jones had originally proposed the monolingual Senedd, supported by figures such as Rhun ap Iorworth of Plaid Cymru, who claimed that the word transcended language barriers.

However, a majority of AMs backed former First Minister Carwyn Jones’ proposals for a bilingual name. Carwyn Jones stated that it was true to say that Senedd was becoming more apparent among the public, but that not everyone yet understood that Senedd meant Parliament. He stated that in the meantime it was important that people understand that the institution was the Senedd, but also the Welsh Parliament.

For this reason, referring to the institution as either Senedd or Welsh Parliament is acceptable. That said, it is clear that the Senedd is likely to be the commonly used and widely accepted name, and we would suggest all communications with Members of the Senedd reflect that.