South Wales East regional Senedd Members confirmed

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Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Conservatives have claimed two seats each in the South Wales East region, following the Senedd Election on Thursday.

Delyth Jewell and Peredur Owen Griffiths of Plaid Cymru, and Welsh Conservative candidates Laura Anne Jones and Natasha Asghar have all been elected to represent the region.

What is a regional Senedd Member and how are they elected?

At Senedd Elections, voters have two ballot papers. The first is to vote for a candidate to represent a constituency. Wales is divided into 40 constituencyes, each electing one Senedd Member using a first past the post system.

The second ballot is to vote for a party to represent the region. Wales is divided into five regions, each electing four regional Senedd Members.

Each party submits a list of candidates for the regions, ranked in order.

But which Senedd Members are elected through the regional vote isn’t necessarily a case of whoever gets the most votes. A formula is used to determine who is elected.

The system is designed to give more representation to parties who wouldn’t otherwise be elected through the first past the post system.

Each party’s total number of votes is divided by one, plus the number of constituency Senedd Members it has elected in the region.

The party with the highest total after this method then has its highest ranking candidate elected as a regional Senedd Member. The process is carried out again and again until four Senedd Members are elected.

What area does South Wales East cover?

The South Wales East region includes the constituencies of Caerphilly, Islwyn, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, Newport West, Newport East, Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen and Monmouth.

It comes after successes for Labour in the three constituency seats in Caerphilly County Borough, with Hefin David winning Caerphilly, Rhianon Passmore winning Islwyn and Dawn Bowden topping the poll in the Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney constituency.

Ms Jewell, who stood in the Caerphilly constituency for Plaid Cymru, has been re-elected, having served in the Senedd since 2019, following the death of her predecessor Steffan Lewis.

I'm honoured to have been re-elected to the Senedd as a regional Member for South Wales East. Thank you so much to the wonderful team who supported me as well as Peredur Owen Griffiths, who has become Plaid Cymru's second MS in our region. Ymlaen ??????? pic.twitter.com/GbkyzD7K0z
— Delyth Jewell (@DelythJewellAM) May 8, 2021

Laura Anne Jones, who has represented the South Wales East region since last July, was also returned to the Senedd.

Ms Jones entered the Senedd following the death of Mohammad Asghar MS – the father of Natasha Asghar, who herself has been elected to represent the region in Cardiff Bay.

Absolutely thrilled to see these two fabulous women elected in South Wales East for @WelshConserv after an incredible and positive campaign.
Huge congratulations @LauraJ4SWEast and @natasghar pic.twitter.com/48ZRiFO9RV
— Nick Evans (@cllrnickevans) May 8, 2021

Meanwhile, Plaid Cymru’s Peredur Owen Griffiths, who sits on Penyrheol, Trecenydd and Energlyn Community Council, has also been elected to the region.

Long-serving Penyrheol ward councillor Lindsay Whittle – a former council leader and regional Senedd Member – was third on Plaid Cymru’s regional list, behind Cllr Griffiths, missing out on a return to the Welsh Parliament.

Cllr Whittle was marginally behind Cllr Griffiths in the party’s internal vote to determine the order of list candidates.

Here’s what Plaid’s Peredur Owen Griffiths had to say on his election to the Senedd. #SeneddVote2021 pic.twitter.com/ljdYfQJy7W
— Em Gill (@EmilyEvaGill) May 8, 2021

Elsewhere, First Minister Mark Drakeford retained his Cardiff West seat and will continue as First Minister, with Labour winning 30 seats across Wales – equalling the party’s best ever result in a devolved election.

The Welsh Conservatives will be the second biggest party in the Senedd, gaining five seats to take their total up to 16, while Plaid Cymru made a net gain of one seat, returning 13 Senedd Members this time around.

Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds was elected as a regional Senedd Member for Mid and West Wales, retaining her party’s presence in Wales following former Education Minister Kirsty Williams’ retirement.

Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party failed to win a single seat, with UKIP and Reform UK (previously known as the Brexit Party) being wiped out.

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Who has been elected all together?

Aberavon: David Rees (Labour hold)

Aberconwy: Janet Finch-Saunders (Conservative hold)

Alyn and Deeside: Jack Sargeant (Labour hold)

Arfon: Sian Gwenllian (Plaid Cymru hold)

Blaenau Gwent: Alun Davies (Labour hold)

Brecon and Radnorshire: James Evans (Conservative gain from Lib Dems)

Bridgend: Sarah Murphy (Labour hold)

Caerphilly: Hefin David (Labour hold)

Cardiff Central: Jenny Rathbone (Labour Hold)

Cardiff North: Julie Morgan (Labour hold)

Cardiff South and Penarth: Vaughan Gething (Labour hold)

Cardiff West: Mark Drakeford (Labour hold)

Carmarthen East and Dinefwr: Adam Price (Plaid Cymru hold)

Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire: Samuel Kurtz (Conservative hold)

Ceredigion: Elin Jones (Plaid Cymru hold)

Clwyd South: Ken Skates (Labour hold)

Clwyd West: Darren Millar (Conservative hold)

Cynon Valley: Vikki Howells (Labour hold)

Delyn: Hannah Blythyn (Labour Hold)

Dwyfor Meirionnydd: Mabon ap Gwynfor (Plaid Cymru gain from Independent)

Gower: Rebecca Evans (Labour hold)

Islwyn: Rhianon Passmore (Labour hold)

Llanelli: Lee Waters (Labour hold)

Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney: Dawn Bowden (Labour hold)

Monmouth: Peter Fox (Conservative hold)

Montgomeryshire: Russell George (Conservative hold)

Neath: Jeremy Miles (Labour hold)

Newport East: John Griffiths (Labour hold)

Newport West: Jayne Bryant (Labour hold)

Ogmore: Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour hold)

Pontypridd: Mick Antoniw (Labour hold)

Preseli Pembrokeshire: Paul Davies (Conservative hold)

Rhondda: Buffy Williams (Labour gain from Plaid Cymru)

Swansea East: Mike Hedges (Labour hold)

Swansea West: Julie James (Labour hold)

Torfaen: Lynne Neagle (Labour hold)

Vale of Clwyd: Gareth Davies (Conservative gain from Labour)

Vale of Glamorgan: Jane Hutt (Labour hold)

Wrexham: Lesley Griffiths (Labour hold)

Ynys Mon: Rhun ap Iorwerth (Plaid Cymru hold)

Regional Senedd Members

Mid and West Wales

Eluned Morgan (Labour)

Joyce Watson (Labour)

Cefin Campbell (Plaid Cymru)

Jane Dodds (Liberal Democrats)

North Wales

Carolyn Thomas (Labour)

Llyr Gruffydd (Plaid Cymru)

Mark Isherwood (Conservatives)

Sam Rowlands (Conservative)

South Wales Central

Rhys ab Owen (Plaid Cymru)

Heledd Fychan (Plaid Cymru)

Andrew RT Davies (Conservatives)

Joel James (Conservatives)

South Wales East

Delyth Jewell (Plaid Cymru)

Peredur Owen Griffiths (Plaid Cymru)

Laura Anne Jones (Conservatives)

Natasha Asghar (Conservatives)

South Wales West

Sioned Williams (Plaid Cymru)

Luke Fletcher (Plaid Cymru)

Tom Giffard (Conservatives)

Altaf Hussain (Conservatives)

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