Charles III
27-572: Cwmafan ( Welsh pronunciation ), also known as Cwmavon , is a large village and community in the Afan valley in Wales , lying within Neath Port Talbot County Borough . It had a population of 5,603 in 2001, increasing slightly to 5,615 at the 2011 Census. Cwmafan is known for having a high percentage of Welsh speakers. In many ways it is a suburb of the nearby town of Port Talbot which
54-681: A football pitch, tennis courts and bowling green are located at " Parc Siencyn Powell" (Formerly named Parc-y-Llyn ), which is administered by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council . Community (Wales) Heir Apparent William, Prince of Wales First Minister ( list ) Rt Hon Eluned Morgan MS ( L ) Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies MS ( L ) Counsel General-designate – Elisabeth Jones Chief Whip and Trefnydd – Jane Hutt MS (L) Permanent Secretary Sixth Senedd Llywydd (Presiding Officer) Elin Jones MS ( PC ) Leader of
81-686: A period of four years. In April 2023, Leader of the Opposition Andrew RT Davies 's salary as leader of the Conservative opposition group in the Senedd was set at £101,656. In March 2024, Davies's salary was increased to £104,709 for the 2024/25 tax year. Between July 2007 and May 2011, Nick Bourne served as Leader of the Opposition, even though the Conservatives were the third largest group in
108-595: Is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest tier of local government in Wales . Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England but, unlike English parishes, communities cover the whole of Wales. There are 878 communities in Wales. Until 1974 Wales was divided into civil parishes . These were abolished by section 20 (6) of the Local Government Act 1972 , and replaced by communities by section 27 of
135-454: Is also a Saint Afan, which it is possible the river was named after. There have been other suggestions but none accepted locally. The village is surrounded by hills: the biggest is Foel Fynyddau, which stands 370 m (1200 ft) high and stands above the northern edge of the village. West of Foel Fynyddau is Mynydd-y-Gaer : at its summit the community boundaries of Cwmafan, Baglan and Briton Ferry all meet. The River Afan runs through
162-509: Is less than 2 miles (3 km) to the south. The literal translation of Cwmafan from Welsh to English is complex, Cwm means valley with Afan as the name of the river flowing through, hence the village residing within the Afan Valley. It could be a version of Afon which means river, so literally the "River Valley", this is common in Wales and the UK with many rivers being called Afon or Avon. There
189-762: The Leader of the Opposition in the Senedd is Andrew RT Davies (Conservative). To date the office has been held by six individuals, three from Plaid Cymru and three from the Welsh Conservatives . Only one, Ieuan Wyn Jones , has gone on to serve in the Welsh Government . Like in the Westminster system of the UK Parliament , the Welsh Senedd has an official opposition which, by convention , serves to scrutinise
216-618: The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 and the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011 . Leader of the Opposition (Wales) Charles III Heir Apparent William, Prince of Wales First Minister ( list ) Rt Hon Eluned Morgan MS ( L ) Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies MS ( L ) Counsel General-designate – Elisabeth Jones Chief Whip and Trefnydd – Jane Hutt MS (L) Permanent Secretary Sixth Senedd Llywydd (Presiding Officer) Elin Jones MS ( PC ) Leader of
243-674: The Senedd , the Leader of the Opposition ( Welsh : Arweinydd yr Wrthblaid ) is the leader of the Official Opposition ( Welsh : Yr Wrthblaid Swyddogol ), the largest political party that is not in the Welsh Government . The Leader of the Opposition leads and appoints members of the Shadow Cabinet and as such is sometimes styled as the Shadow First Minister of Wales ( Shadow First Secretary before 2000). Since 7 May 2021
270-625: The Welsh Liberal Democrats , with Wigley's successor Ieuan Wyn Jones formally being granted the title of Leader of the Opposition as the assembly began to adopt some elements of the style of government as seen in Westminster. The official introduction of the role also signalled a move toward increased predecence for the Official Opposition in plenary sessions of the assembly and on its subject committees, leading to further scrutiny of
297-616: The Assembly. This was a result of the Welsh Government 's make-up consisting of Labour and Plaid Cymru, which were the largest and second largest groups respectively. Following the 2016 election, Plaid Cymru (led by Leanne Wood ) became the largest group not in government, having won 12 seats to the Welsh Conservatives' 11. On 14 October 2016 Dafydd Elis-Thomas left Plaid Cymru to sit as an independent, which resulted in Plaid Cymru and
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#1732863206366324-475: The Crown . In Wales, all town councils are community councils. There are now three communities with city status: Bangor , St Asaph and St Davids . The chair of a town council or city council will usually have the title mayor (Welsh: maer ). However, not every community has a council. In communities with populations too small to sustain a full community council, community meetings may be established. The communities in
351-551: The Independent Remuneration Board of the assembly replaced the dedicated salary of the Leader of the Opposition with a general salary for all opposition party leaders in the assembly, with a miniimum salary of £12,420 which was increased by £1,000 for each seat held by their party. As such, the salary of the Leader of the Opposition, with 14 AMs in their party at the time, was reduced to £26,420 from July 2011 and frozen for
378-652: The Official Opposition and appoints its members to the Welsh Shadow Cabinet , whose portfolios mirror those of ministers or cabinet secretaries in the Welsh Government. Members of the Shadow Cabinet lead the Official Opposition in challenging government ministers and holding them to account. As with some other practices in the Senedd, the roles of Official Opposition and Leader of the Opposition have no legal basis, instead they have developed as conventions in
405-655: The Opposition Andrew RT Davies MS ( C ) Shadow Cabinet ( current ) Prime Minister Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP ( L ) Secretary of State for Wales Rt Hon Jo Stevens MP (L) Principal councils ( leader list ) Corporate Joint Committees Local twinning see also: Regional terms and Regional economy United Kingdom Parliament elections European Parliament elections (1979–2020) Local elections Police and crime commissioner elections Referendums A community ( Welsh : cymuned )
432-548: The Opposition Andrew RT Davies MS ( C ) Shadow Cabinet ( current ) Prime Minister Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP ( L ) Secretary of State for Wales Rt Hon Jo Stevens MP (L) Principal councils ( leader list ) Corporate Joint Committees Local twinning see also: Regional terms and Regional economy United Kingdom Parliament elections European Parliament elections (1979–2020) Local elections Police and crime commissioner elections Referendums In
459-512: The Senedd. Both concepts were introduced on an informal basis with the establishment of the Senedd as the National Assembly for Wales in 1999, with the inaugural holder being Dafydd Wigley of Plaid Cymru, the Official Opposition in the assembly at the time. Official recognition was granted in October 2000 with the formation of Rhodri Morgan 's coalition government between Welsh Labour and
486-485: The Welsh Conservative party, meaning that the group had lost its title as the largest party not in government as by this point both the Welsh Conservatives and Plaid Cymru were tied on 10 seats each, with no official office holder of the Leader of the opposition in the final period before the 2021 Senedd election . Following the 2021 Senedd election the Welsh Conservatives returned 16 seats making them comfortably
513-488: The Welsh Conservatives both holding 11 seats. During this period Leanne Wood was not referred to as Leader of the Opposition but was instead referred to as the leader of Plaid Cymru. The Conservative group grew to 12 following Mark Reckless 's defection from UKIP to the Conservative Group on 6 April 2017, and Andrew RT Davies was once again referred to as Leader of the Opposition. On 29 March 2021 Nick Ramsay left
540-460: The Welsh Conservatives. In 2001, the National Assembly for Wales decided to grant the Leader of the Opposition a dedicated salary, equivalent to that of a minister in the Welsh Government, of around £34,000. By the end of the third legislative term of the National Assembly in 2011, the salary of the Leader of the Opposition was £41,949. Going into the fourth term of the assembly in 2011,
567-612: The Ynys-y-Gwas bridge suddenly collapsed, cutting off the water supply to the residents. A resident of Maesteg , Paul Barry, escaped unharmed from the incident, despite being on the bridge when it collapsed. The village is also home to several sporting grounds, the most prominent of these being the Welfare Ground, home to Cwmavon RFC who are currently playing in the Welsh Rugby Union leagues. A second rugby union pitch along with
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#1732863206366594-628: The community boundaries within their area every fifteen years. The councils propose changes to the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales , which prepares a report and makes recommendations to the Welsh Government . If the Welsh Government accepts the recommendations, then it implements them using a statutory instrument . For example, in 2016 four new communities were created in the City and County of Cardiff . The legislation surrounding community councils in Wales has been amended significantly in
621-415: The government of the day and acts as an alternative government-in-waiting. The Official Opposition is formed from the largest political party in the Senedd which does not serve in the Welsh Government . This is generally the second largest party in the Senedd, however smaller parties may also fulfill the role when there is a coalition between the largest parties. The Leader of the Opposition leads
648-556: The government. The Leader of the Opposition is officially recognised by the Llywydd of the Senedd and on the website of the Senedd as uniquely serving in that position. Sometimes, the Leader of the Opposition is also styled as the Shadow First Minister of Wales, which is a role they can hold as leader of the Shadow Cabinet; this title has been held by Dafydd Wigley and Ieuan Wyn Jones of Plaid Cymru and Nick Bourne of
675-487: The same Act. The principal areas of Wales are divided entirely into communities. Unlike in England, where unparished areas exist, no part of Wales is outside a community, even in urban areas . Most, but not all, communities are administered by community councils , which are equivalent to English parish councils in terms of their powers and the way they operate. Welsh community councils may call themselves town councils unilaterally and may have city status granted by
702-551: The urban areas of the cities of Cardiff , Swansea and Newport do not have community councils. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census , there were 869 communities in Wales. 84 percent, or more than 730, have a council. They vary in size from Rhayader with an area of 13,945 hectares (34,460 acres) to Cefn Fforest with an area of 64 hectares (160 acres). They ranged in population from Barry with 45,053 recorded inhabitants to Baglan Bay with no permanent residents. The twenty-two principal area councils are required to review
729-765: The village from north-east to south-west; the village is on the right bank. The area of Ynysygwas lies immediately across the river, Brynbryddan adjoins Cwmafan to the west and Pwllyglaw adjoins Cwmafan to the north-east (ie up the valley). The B4286 road runs through the village along the valley, and the A4107 runs along the valley on the opposite bank. The village has an industrial history, with metalworking being particularly significant. There were large copper, iron and tin works as well as many coal mines close by. The metal ores, from as far away as Chile, were off-loaded in Port Talbot or Swansea docks and brought by rail to Cwmafan. In 1985
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