What happened and why? A look back at the 2016 Assembly election

The recent Assembly election threw up its fair share of surprises, none more so than the defeat of Labour heavyweight Leighton Andrews by Plaid Cymru’s Leanne Wood in the Rhondda. It was also a historical event as UKIP secured its first Assembly Members and the Liberal Democrats were reduced to a single member, albeit one that has now secured a Cabinet position.Professor Roger Scully was a well known face on our tv screens during the election period with his insightful polls and political forecasts and he will share his thoughts on the recent events at a seminar in Aberystwyth University this Thursday (26 May).

Entitled “The 2016 election: What Happened and Why”, Professor Scully of the Wales Governance Centre will reflect on the accuracy of the pre-election polls, how the voting patterns gave us the current makeup of the Assembly and what the long term impact of this new Assembly could be.

According to Dr Anwen Elias, Director of the Institute of Welsh Politics, the seminar will be an opportunity to take stock after the election: ‘For many observers this Assembly term will be crucial for the country as the new Wales Bill is set to be implemented, tax raising powers could come into existence and the potential of an exit from Europe could impact our future funding models.

‘It is important, therefore, to understand what happened on the 5^th of May and how the resulting Assembly is likely to govern over the next five years on issues that will affect us all.’

Roger Scully is Professor of Political Science at the Wales Governance Centre and was formerly Director of the Institute of Welsh Politics at Aberystwyth University.

The seminar will be held on Thursday, 26 May at 5pm at the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth University. It is jointly hosted by the Institute of Welsh Politics and the Cardigan Bay branch of the Institute of Welsh Affairs.

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