Member of the Senedd takes to social media to back Welsh parliament having the ‘strength and numbers it needs’

Ella Groves

Following the completion of a year-long redevelopment project, Members of the Senedd returned to the Siambr yesterday (24 Februrary).

The debating chamber has been updated and expanded to accommodate a total of 96 Members following the election in May 2026 – 36 more than currently sit in the Senedd.

For the past year Members have held Plenary sessions at Tŷ Hywel in the temporary debating chamber whilst the expansion work took place.

Members returned to the Siambr for the first time yesterday for the weekly First Minister’s Questions session at 1:30pm.

Protection

Member of the Senedd for Arfon, Siân Gwenllian, took to social media to express the importance of the increased number of Members in the Senedd.

The Plaid Cymru MS said in a Facebook post: “Today I sat in the new, expanded chamber of Senedd Cymru — built to make room for more Members.

“Right now, our national parliament has fewer members than Gwynedd Council.

“Wales has nine times the population of Iceland, yet their parliament is larger than ours.

“If we want to properly hold the Welsh Government to account, we need the capacity to do it.

“Since Brexit, powers once shared with the European Union have come back to Wales.

“At the same time, Wales has lost MPs at Parliament of the United Kingdom. The workload hasn’t shrunk — it’s grown.

“And too often, Welsh powers are chipped away because we simply don’t have enough Members to scrutinise and challenge properly.

“Welsh democracy deserves protection.

“That starts with giving our parliament the strength and numbers it needs.”

Ms Gwenllian however faced backlash from some commenters on the post with individuals declaring the expansion a “waste of money” and others suggesting the funds would have been better spent on the Welsh NHS.

One commenter said: “We need hospitals and doctors not politicians.”

Anniversary

The reopening of the Siambr marks the building’s 20th anniversary and is the most significant physical change to the Senedd building since it officially opened in 2006.

Alongside the additional 36 Members elected, the 2026 election will also see changes to the electoral system in Wales and 16 new constituencies added.

Everyone over the age of 16 will now have one vote with which they will choose a party or independent candidate under a proportional list system, with six Members representing each constituency.