How Reform UK set for boost in Wales as Senedd's plan to increase number of MPs from 60 to 96

The new voting system will mean bigger and wider voting constituencies with the largest seat as big as 1,927 sq miles.

Boundary commissioners have published proposals for how seats could work created by pairing up Wales' 32 Westminster seats into 16 constituencies.

The way that the Welsh public votes for the Senedd will also be changed as the mixed system of first past the post and party lists is abandoned.

Commenting on the proposed changes, Reform UK Chairman, Zia Yusuf: "Today’s announcement is an exciting one for Reform UK, it allows us to start planning for the 2026 Senedd elections.

"Every week we see momentum building in Wales, with new highs in the polls, membership surging to new records and continued growth in donations."

At the moment, 60 members of the Senedd (MSs) are elected through a mix of 40 first-past-the-post constituencies and lists in the five regions.

But, from 2026 there will be 96 MSs, voted via a new system which aims to reflect better how people voted.

Instead of 40 constituencies, there will be 16, electing six politicians each through party lists.

As the next election is less than two years away, each constituency will be formed by pairing up the 32 seats for Westminster.

Yusaf continued: "Under Nigel Farage's leadership, we have started the roll out of a campaign winning machine and are building a local branch infrastructure across the whole of Wales.

"Nowhere has been more betrayed by the political establishment than Wales with record NHS waiting lists even worse than England, the worst PISA education scores in the UK and the worst child poverty rates in the UK.

"The legacy parties in the Senedd should treat this as notice. We are entering the 2026 elections with full belief that we can be the party to finally put an end to decades of Labour mismanagement."

Some new Senedd seats are very big with the largest geographical constituency being Dwyfor Meirionnydd, Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr.

Six MSs will serve the area of 1,927 sq miles, which stretches from the Llŷn Peninsula in the west to the border with England.

Some constituencies are geographically large in rural areas where fewer people live, and more proportional voting systems also tend to require larger seats.

The report by the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru tasked with finding the pairings said it was "not ideal to propose such a large constituency" but it was the "best option" available.

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While Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru are supportive of the plan, the Welsh Conservatives have complained about the cost which totals an extra £18m a year on top of its £67m a year budget.

Others are worried about the way the Senedd will be elected through a system known as closed lists.

In this system, voters will only be able to back a party, rather than a specific candidate causing concern that this will break the link between the electorate and the politicians themselves.

Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for the Constitution Darren Millar said the expansion proposals were "the wrong priority".

Millar added: "More boundary changes will cause yet further upheaval and confusion for those who have already had to contend with boundary changes in council and Westminster elections."