Swansea University

The 2026 Senedd election will be held under an entirely new electoral system (closed-list proportional representation) with an expanded Senedd (96 seats) and new constituency boundaries. Understanding how these changes affect voter behaviour, party competition, and attitudes toward devolution is essential for the democratic health of the new system.

Swansea University's co-leadership of the Welsh Election Study 2026 positions it as a critical institution for understanding the most consequential election in devolution's history. The study will provide the definitive academic analysis of how the new electoral system changes voter behaviour, whether proportional representation increases engagement with the Senedd, and how attitudes toward devolution and independence are evolving across different demographics and regions. Swansea's Professor Simon Hoffman's work on human rights in Wales (co-authoring the Amnesty International report discussed by Sioned Williams in the Senedd) also connects the university to the devolution agenda through the lens of rights-based governance. The university's position in South West Wales — bridging the Welsh-speaking west and the English-speaking industrial south — gives its research particular relevance to understanding how devolution plays differently across Wales' diverse communities.