Labour

Having grown out of the strong trade union movement in industrial Wales, since the 1920s Labour has been the dominant political party, winning almost every single election at a national level for a century.

Although the decline of heavy industries through the second half of the 20th Century should have seen Labour’s traditional support base dwindle, Labour maintained its position as an establishment party. This was largely due to a growing, highly-unionised public sector – particularly local government and the NHS.

Although Labour had long supported devolution to Scotland, they were reluctant converts to Welsh devolution. Following a shaky start, under the leadership of Rhodri Morgan, the party launched popular universal benefits such as free prescriptions and free school breakfasts, insulating Wales from centrist reforms introduced by Tony Blair.

While these policies were attention-grabbing, they couldn’t distract from major underlying economic, health and demographic challenges that Labour-led Welsh governments failed to get to grips with.

A century of political dominance came to an abrupt end at the 2026 Senedd election. Although a bad result was expected, the unpopularity of the Labour-led UK Government, combined with a new proportional voting system, strong campaigns against specific Welsh Government policies (i.e. a default 20 mph speed limit in built-up areas), and stronger than usual challenges from both Reform UK and Plaid Cymru, saw Labour crash to third place, winning only 9 seats. This is arguably the worst result in the party’s history in Wales.

At first glance, Labour is a centre-left party. In practice, they have a much broader political footprint. This ranges from more centrist (even mildly conservative) “Blarite” tendencies, through to out-and-out socialists.

To an extent, Welsh Labour has long aimed to stay on (what they believe to be) the right side of mainstream public opinion in Wales. Their watchword has long been “fairness”. Though the interpretation of what is “fair” will differ from leader to leader.

More critically, Welsh Labour isn’t a party of change. They focus on “what works now”, swerving big reforms. This technocratic style of politics often involves seemingly endless consultation, tinkering and tweaking over big ideas.

They oppose public spending cuts, but have tried to balance the need for extra funding for core services with keeping tax and borrowing under control.

The party in Wales has had a strong focus on working in partnership with trade unions, public bodies and employers, as well as a focus on the environment (particularly recycling and reducing waste).

Welsh Labour are a largely autonomous branch of the UK Labour Party. They have control over policies and the selection of candidates for Senedd and local elections. However, Welsh Labour is still subject to the UK party’s “Rule Book” (Constitution); there have been calls for this to be devolved.

The leader of the party’s Senedd group is recognised as the Welsh Labour leader. The leader is elected by preferential voting if there are more than two candidates, with the eventual winner needing to secure at least 50% of the vote.

There is a Welsh National Executive, which operates similarly to the UK-wide National Executive Committee. The Welsh executive is responsible for election campaigns and the day-to-day running of the party in Wales. Devolved policies are shaped by a Policy Forum.

The selection of Senedd candidates is led by local branches. In 2026, sitting candidates seeking re-election were not given preference for the top places on the constituency lists, meaning they all faced re-selection votes.

In the past, Labour has used “zipping” to ensure gender balance and has supported law changes to ensure gender balance for Senedd elections.

In principle, Labour supports the devolution of more powers to Wales, but in a slower, gradual way. In practice, there has been a reluctance to devolve extra powers – particularly amongst the party’s MPs.

Labour officially opposes Welsh independence, though a sizable minority of the party membership supports it.