The Senedd, Cardiff Bay. Credit: Matthew Horwood Photography
More people in Wales favour keeping the current Senedd voting system than returning to the old one, according to a new in-depth study of May’s devolved election.
Based on a survey of ten thousand people in Wales, the findings show that 35.2% of respondents prefer to keep the system of voting for parties used this year, compared with 30.6% who favour a return to voting for individual candidates.
Led by researchers from Aberystwyth University and Swansea University, these findings from the Welsh Election Study 2026 also show that knowledge of the new Senedd voting system increased during the election campaign.
While most people, 58%, still did not know how the closed-list proportional representation system worked, the study shows that 69% found it easy to cast their vote and 58% also felt the new system was fair to political parties in terms of translating votes into seats.
A quarter of respondents said they had voted for a political party to prevent another party from winning in their constituency, suggesting tactical voting played a role in the election.
Most of this tactical voting benefitted Plaid Cymru, who won the most seats and votes in the Senedd election.
Those surveyed reported particularly positive feelings towards Plaid Cymru and the Wales Green Party, while views of Reform UK were more negative and characterised by sentiments such as fear, anger and irritation. The research also explored how people felt about the places where they live: with 41% feeling that the Senedd election campaign drove people in their local area apart rather than bringing them together.
Dr Anwen Elias from Aberystwyth University, who co-leads the study, said: “The support for the new voting system may surprise many. It will no doubt influence the ongoing debate about future possible electoral reforms. While many people found the new voting system straightforward to use, understanding of how it worked remained limited.
“Overall, the 2026 Senedd election revealed a mixture of engagement, uncertainty and frustration among voters in Wales. The findings also highlight wider concerns about the relationship between politics and communities. Many respondents feel a strong sense of pride in the communities where they live. But there is also a clear frustration with the economic decline in these places, and scepticism that the Welsh Government will make any difference over coming years.”
The detailed academic study also found that many people also felt that the economic situation in their local area had declined, and that local authorities, particularly the Welsh Government, did not care enough about the places where they live.
The NHS, cost of living, housing and jobs were the most important issues for voters in this election. However, about a third of people were unsure which political parties they trusted most or saw as competent to address these challenges.
Dr Bettina Petersohn from Swansea University added: “People’s perception and evaluations of their local area and local authority differ noticeably from their thoughts about the Welsh and the UK Government. While a majority of those who voted thought that their local authority cares about the places where they live, that sense of care was felt to a lesser extent in relation to the Welsh Government, and less than 10% thought that the UK Government cared. Despite the change that people in Wales voted for in this election, many do not expect that the new Welsh Government will make a difference to their local area.”
The findings will be presented at public events in Cardiff and Llandudno this week as part of Understanding the Senedd Election 2026: Democracy, Media and Community in Wales.
The first event will take place at the Norwegian Church Arts Centre in Cardiff on Monday 13 July from 6pm to 7.30pm, followed by a second event at Venue Cymru in Llandudno on Tuesday 14 July from 2.30pm to 4pm.
The Welsh Election Study 2026 is a four-year research project funded by the UKRI Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
The collaboration brings together Professor Matt Wall (Swansea University), Dr Anwen Elias (Aberystwyth University), Dr Bettina Petersohn and Dr Mohsin Hussain (Swansea University), working in partnership with the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data (WISERD), as part of the ESRC’s investment in data infrastructure for electoral research.
The findings are based on a representative probability sample of 10,001 adults aged 16+ in Wales who were surveyed between 26 February and 3 June 2026 by Ipsos UK.