Anna Brychan seeks Senedd nomination for Plaid Cymru

Martin Shipton

Former trade union director and current assistant dean at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Anna Brychan, has announced her intention to seek selection as a Plaid Cymru candidate in the 2026 election for the Caerdydd Penarth ‘super constituency’.

Originally from Ceredigion she has made her home in Grangetown, in the south of Cardiff, for more than 25  years.

Opportunity

Announcing her candidacy, Ms Brychan said: “I have considered standing in the past but until now have always decided to focus on my career in education, believing that I could make a bigger contribution in that field. This time is different.

“The election next year offers a genuine opportunity for Plaid Cymru to form a government and make a real difference to the lives of the people of Wales. We will need to be ready to make that difference on day one. I believe that I have the experience, the commitment and the passion necessary to contribute to that work.

“Wales, and Cardiff, have given me and my family so much – a deep sense of belonging and of community, and the confidence to look out at the world and see how other small nations forge their own way and flourish. It would be a real privilege to offer my energies to driving Wales’ journey, and to represent the constituency in which I live and our Senedd stands.’

‘Delighted’

Commenting on Ms Brychan’s candidacy, Liz Saville-Roberts MP, Plaid Cymru’s leader in Westminster, said: ‘I have known Anna for many years and am delighted that she is putting her name forward this time. Plaid has a real chance to govern, and we need to put our strongest team before Welsh voters. We need people with Anna’s knowledge and experience in our national parliament, people who can hit the ground running and make a real impact.”

Ms Brychan worked for Plaid Cymru in the early years of devolution in a number of roles including a period as chief executive.

She led the headteachers’ union, NAHT Cymru, for 10 years, was the Wales director for a global education charity, and is now assistant dean at the Athrofa Centre for Education at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. In that role she leads on developing partnerships with schools, colleges and others to ensure that learners have the best possible opportunity to access lifelong education in their communities.

She is married to Ian and has three teenage sons.

Ms Brychan is bilingual in Welsh and English and also speaks fluent German.

With her youngest son, she attends regular kickboxing classes with Cardiff Martial Arts.

Her late father was John Davies, the renowned historian of Wales.