The Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party ( cy, Plaid Diddymu Cynulliad Cymru), or in Wales, simply Abolish, is a registered

single issue Single-issue politics involves political campaigning or political support based on one essential policy area or idea. Political expression One weakness of such an approach is that effective political parties are usually coalitions of factions ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. It campaigns for the abolition of the

Senedd The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...

(Welsh Parliament; ), formerly known as the "National Assembly for Wales", the devolved legislature of Wales. Abolish advocates that devolved powers be returned to the

Secretary of State for Wales The secretary of state for Wales ( cy, ysgrifennydd gwladol Cymru), also referred to as the Welsh secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member ...

within the UK Central Government and the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

. Abolish was first registered with the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

in July 2015. It was de-registered in November 2020 because former leader David Bevan failed to renew its registration, but was then re-registered two months later. The party has not had a candidate elected to the Senedd, but it gained two members in 2019 and 2020 through defections from the

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...

(UKIP), along with one council member in

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

. It lost both of its Senedd seats in the

2021 Senedd election 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

History

The Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party was formally registered with the

in July 2015 and was publicly launched in November 2015. Its sole stated aim is the abolition of the Senedd, 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. It did not contest any constituency seats. Former

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest pa ...

leadership candidate Richard Suchorzewski stood in the

2019 Newport West by-election A by-election was held in the UK Parliament constituency of Newport West in south Wales on 4 April 2019, following the death of Labour Party MP (Member of Parliament) Paul Flynn. Labour nominated the trade unionist Ruth Jones, who held the ...

, 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. He campaigned on the single issue of the Welsh Assembly, claiming it was "a waste of money" and "an unnecessary tier of politics". He finished in 8th place out of 11 candidates, with 0.9% of the vote. Suchorzewski had previously stood for the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

and then for UKIP, standing for leadership of UKIP in 2006 and losing to

Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage (; born 3 April 1964) is a British broadcaster and former politician who was List of UK Independence Party leaders, Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 to 2009 and 2010 to 2016 and Brexit Party#Leaders, Lea ...

Defections to Abolish

The deputy chair of the

Welsh Conservatives The Welsh Conservatives ( cy, Ceidwadwyr Cymreig) is the branch of the United Kingdom Conservative Party that operates in Wales. At Westminster elections, it is the second most popular political party in Wales, having obtained the second-large ...

, Lee Canning, defected to the party in November 2019, claiming that his former party were not doing enough to maintain the unity of the UK. The party said it hoped Canning would stand "in a key target seat" in the

. In May 2020,

councillor Claire Mills quit the Welsh Conservatives and joined the party for similar reasons, becoming the party's first representative in Welsh local government. Richard Suchorzewski became the new leader of the party in June 2020. Later in the same month Gareth Bennett, the former leader of the

Senedd group and

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

MS, joined the party along with former Brexit Party parliamentary candidates Cameron Edwards and Richard Taylor. In October 2020, a second member of the Senedd,

Mark Reckless Mark John Reckless (born 6 December 1970) is a British politician who served as a Member of the Senedd (MS) for South Wales East from 2016 until 2021, having previously served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochester and Strood from 2010 to ...

, joined the party. Reckless, who was previously the leader of the

Brexit Party Reform UK is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded with support from Nigel Farage in November 2018 as the Brexit Party, advocating hard Euroscepticism and a no-deal Brexit, and was bri ...

in Wales (and prior to that a member of

, and before that a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

MP), stated, "we surveyed all the

rexit A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Andorra), of a people (e.g., the Franks, the Zulus) or of a spiritual community (e.g., Catholicism, Tibetan Buddhism, N ...

party’s registered supporters to ask what they wanted for the future. Two thirds of them wanted Abolish and an end to devolution. So, I am joining the Abolish The Assembly Party to help give those opposed to devolution a proper voice in Welsh politics".

De-registration and re-registration

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. 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 The next Senedd election is due to be held in or before May 2026 to elect 60 members to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ). It will be the seventh devolved general election since the Senedd (formerly the National Assembly for Wales) was establish ...

. A spokesman for the original party was quoted opposing the registration, warning Bevan against "stealing the party like a thief in the night." 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." In January 2021, Abolish was reinstated on the Electoral Register by the Electoral Commission. Suchorzewski said he " ookedforward 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."

2021 Senedd election campaign

On 7 March 2021, Abolish announced that it would be running candidates in all constituencies for the

. It also said that it would run candidates on the regional list. On 6 April, one month before election day, it was announced that 10 of the party's candidates had dropped out of the election. This included one of its two MSs, Gareth Bennett, who left to stand as an independent; the reasons for this decision were unspecified. Richard Suchorzewski was asked during the 24 April 2021 edition of BBC Politics Wales on whether 'Wales was a country'. Appearing to struggle to answer the question, he stated, "I don’t understand the premise behind that question…. quite frankly" but confirmed that Wales was a country. The interviewer, BBC journalist James Williams, then asked what other countries that don't have a parliament. Suchorzewski paused then explained that he didn't understand the point of the question. He went on to explain that Wales voted for an Assembly, not a Parliament. At the election, Abolish received 18,149 constituency votes and 41,399 regional votes (3.7% of the vote), a drop from its performance in 2016, and failed to win any seats. Dr Richard Wyn Jones, Professor of Welsh Politics at Cardiff University, commented on S4C election coverage that the party's failure to win seats "earmarked something important that it not only noted in the confidence of the Labour Party but also a vote of confidence in devolution....the people of Wales have declared their faith in devolution. There was a believable option to vote for abolishing the whole thing, that has died on its arse. That has left us. That will change the nature of the discussions. A few weeks ago, there was a real possibility that the Abolish the Assembly was going to do well. The Conservatives would then react by being more in favour in abolish. There was reasons for that. I think that this election and the results on who has won and who has been destroyed should be noted as an important moment in Welsh politics".

2022 local elections

On 6 April 2022, Abolish lost its only councillor, Claire Mills, who announced that she would be running as an independent at the 2022 local elections on 5 May. Only one other candidate stood for Abolish, Stuart Field in the Rhoose Ward of Vale of Glamorgan. He received 430 votes.

Policies

The party published its manifesto for the

in April 2021. The key points were: *Abolish the devolved

Welsh government The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...

, including the position of

First Minister of Wales , insignia = First Minister of Wales logo.png , insigniasize = 120px , insigniacaption = Logo , flag = Flag of Wales.svg , flagsize = 120px , flagborder = yes , flagcaption = Flag of Wales , image = File:Mark Drakeford (cropped).jpg , ...

, handing over executive powers to the relevant departments within the

UK government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. *Abolish the devolved

(Welsh parliament; ) and hand over legislative powers to the

UK parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremac ...

, in which 40 of the 650 MPs represent constituencies in Wales *Integrate the

NHS in Wales NHS Wales ( cy, GIG (Gwasanaeth Iechyd Gwladol) Cymru) is the publicly-funded healthcare system in Wales, and one of the four systems which make up the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. NHS Wales was formed as part of the public ...

into the

NHS in England The National Health Service (NHS) is the publicly funded healthcare system in England, and one of the four National Health Service systems in the United Kingdom. It is the second largest single-payer healthcare system in the world after the ...

*Re-introduce

prescription charges Charges for prescriptions for medicines and some medical appliances are payable by adults in England under the age of 60. However, people may be exempt from charges in various exemption categories. Charges were abolished by NHS Wales in 2007, Hea ...

, currently £9.35 per item, for people in Wales aged between 17 and 64 as is the case in England *Remove the requirement for public services in Wales to be offered bilingually in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

and scrap Welsh language revival policies and targets *Stop compulsory Welsh language education, abolish the National Curriculum for Wales and require Welsh schools to teach the

National Curriculum for England The National Curriculum for England was first introduced by the Education Reform Act 1988. At the time of its introduction the legislation applied to both England and Wales. However, education later became a devolved matter for the Welsh government. ...

instead *Allow schools in Wales to convert to

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

status and allow the creation for free schools in Wales *Repeal alcohol pricing laws *Privatise

Cardiff Airport Cardiff Airport ( cy, Maes Awyr Caerdydd) is the only airport offering commercial passenger services in Wales. It has been under the ownership of the Welsh Government since March 2013, operating at an arm's length as a commercial business. Pa ...

*Build an

M4 relief road The M4 relief road, also known as M4 Corridor around Newport (M4CaN), was a proposed motorway, south of the city of Newport, South Wales, intended to relieve traffic congestion on the M4 motorway. Originally proposed by the Welsh Office ...

*Abolish Welsh rates of income tax and restore

stamp duty land tax Stamp duty in the United Kingdom is a form of tax charged on legal instruments (written documents), and historically required a physical stamp to be attached to or impressed upon the document in question. The more modern versions of the tax no l ...

as is the case in England *Abolish

Natural Resources Wales Natural Resources Wales ( cy, Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru) is a Welsh Government sponsored body, which became operational from 1 April 2013, when it took over the management of the natural resources of Wales. It was formed from a merger of the Count ...

, reduce environmental standards for nitrate pollution and scale back rewilding projects

Electoral performance

Senedd elections

References

External links

Official party website
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