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| 2006 Senedd Ty Uchaf Election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All 70 seats to the Senedd Upper House | ||||
| 11th May 2006 | ||||
| First party | Second party | |||
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| Leader | Ieuan Wyn Jones | Neil Kinnock | ||
| Party | Christian Democratic Party | Socialist Party | ||
| Last election | 14 seats | 20 seats | ||
| Seats won | 17 seats | 14 seats | ||
| Seat change | +3 | -6 | ||
| Popular vote | 957,763 | 630,907 | ||
| Percentage | 25.2% | 16.6% | ||
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Seat results. The ruling Socialist Party lost seats to the Forward Dragon Party, the losses enough to give enough seats so that the Christian Democrat-Forward Dragon coalition could secure 29 seats between them. With the aid of the Green Party, this gave them control of 34 seats, two short of a majority. However, since one of the new Senators was from the White Eagle Party, this left the Upper House deadlocked. As a result, Ieuan Wyn Jones succeeded Neil Kinnock as Chamberlain of the Upper House. | ||||
Leader of the Upper House before election
Neil Kinnock Socialist Party
Elected Leader of the Upper House
Ieuan Wyn Jones Christian Democratic Party | ||||
The 2006 election to the Senedd Upper House (Ty Uchaf) was contested on the 11th May 2006. The Upper House is not the Governing House of the Welsh Senedd, but a revising Chamber. Its role is to support and monitor the government based in the Lower House (Ty Isod). That is not to say that the Upper House doesn't have its powers. It can block and stall government legislation, preventing the government from fully carrying out its wishes. It also acts as a Secondary Government should the Chancellor's government fall to a vote of no confidence.
Background
The 70 member Upper House is constitutionally fixed to 6 year terms of office with no bar to the number of times a Senator may stand for office. The Leader of the Upper House is called the Gwas Ystafell Senedd or the Chamberlain of the Upper House. His role in Government is to sit in the Kings Privy Council and to also act as a Secundus Chancellor should the Government fall. The Chamberlain's role during such a time is to continue the role of government whilst arranging a General Election to provide a new Chancellor and new Government.
The 2006 election was fought primarily between three parties, the Christian Democrats, the Social Democrats and the Socialists. The Socialists were the former Communist Party and they had controlled the Upper House since the 2000 elections, and had briefly controlled both Houses (between 2000 and 2003). During the 2006 election the Chamberlain was Neil Kinnock.
Parties Contesting the Election
- Christian Democrat Party (Plaid Gwerinwr Cristnogol) - Centre right party
- Social Democrat Party (Plaid Gwerinwr Cymdeithasol) - Centre left party
- The Socialist Party (Plaid Sosialydd) - Left wing party
- The White Eagle Party (Plaid Eryr Gwyn) - Far right party
- Forward Dragon Party (Plaid Y Ddraig Ymlaen) - Centerist party
- The Green Party (Plaid Gwyrdd) - Environmental party
- The Catholic Party (Plaid Catholig) - Right wing party
- The Communist Party (Plaid Comiwnyddol) - Far left party
Electoral Regions & Voting System
- Ynys Mon
- Gwynedd Uwch Conwy
- Gwynedd Is Conwy
- Ceredigion
- Dyfed
- Ty Dewi
- Penfro
- Ystrad Twyi
- Seisyllwg
- Cydweli
- Gwyr
- Morgannwg Uchaf
- Bro Morgannwg
- Gwent
- Dean
- Ergyng
- Brycheiniog
- Powys Wenwynwyn
- Powys Fadog
- Y Mers
- Henffordd
- Gwlad yr Haf
- Dyfnaint Glan Hafren
All the regions elect 2 Senators from a 1st Past the Post System which see's the top two candidates returned as Senior and Junior Senators for their region. The ballot paper then holds a Regional List of Additional Members, who are elected according to the proportion of the popular vote the parties gain over a "Super Region". The system is called | Mixed member proportional representation. The Super Regions are as follows
- Rhanbarth y Gogledd (North Region): Mon & the 2 Gwynedd's
- Rhanbarth Canol (Mid Region): Ceredigion & Powys
- Rhanbarth y Gorllewin (West Region): TyDewi, Penfro, Dyfed, and Ystrad Twyi
- Canol De Orllewin (South West Central): Cydweli, Seisyllwg & Gwyr
- Rhanbarth y De (South Region): The two Morgannwgs & Gwent
- Rhanbarth Dwyrain (East Region): Y Mers & Henffordd
- Rhanbarth y De Ddwyrain Canol (South East Central Region): Brycheiniog, Ergyng & Dean
- De Isod y Dyfroedd (South Below the Waters): Gwlad yr Haf & Dyfnaint Glan Hafren
In this manner we have 46 directly elected Senators and 24 proportionally elected Senators present in the House.
The Election Campaign
The election campaign opened in the January of 2006 with the King officially dissolving the Upper House, the two main parties (CDP & SP) and their respective leaders, Ieuan Wyn Jones and Neil Kinnock began campaigning. The traditional power brokers were the SDP, but in the late 1990's a new political party, the Forward Dragon party had begun to increase in popularity. During this campaign, its leader, John Marek, oversaw a surge in its popularity. The months of February and March saw bitter debates from all sides, as this election was being used as a litmus test on the Socialist Government of Dafydd Iwan. Opinion polls held in April put the election down to the wire and all parties waited nervously for the results.
Election Night - 11th May 2006
The exit polls on the 11th May indicated that the results would be close but the results were an earthquake in terms of Welsh politics. The Socialist Party, led by Neil Kinnock in the Upper House, and part of Iwan's overall Socialist Government lost 6 seats to the Forward Dragon party. With the CDP gaining at the expense of the Catholic Party and the SDP, it was Ieuan Wyn Jones who at the end of the election night had a majority of seats. With such a landslide in the Upper Chamber, the Government of Dafydd Iwan now looked on shaky ground.
| Party | Direct Vote Seats | Additional Member Seats |
|---|---|---|
| Christian Democratic Party - Plaid Gwerinwr Cristnogol | 14 | 3 |
| Social Democrat Party - Plaid Gwerinwr Cymdeithasol | 10 | 2 |
| The Socialist Party - Plaid Sosialydd | 11 | 3 |
| The White Eagle Party - Plaid Eryr Gwyn | 0 | 1 |
| Forward Dragon Party - Plaid Y Ddraig Ymlaen | 6 | 6 |
| The Green Party - Plaid Gwyrdd | 1 | 4 |
| The Catholic Party - Plaid Catholig | 4 | 4 |
| The Communist Party - Plaid Comiwnyddol | 0 | 1 |