Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party

The party was formally registered with the Electoral Commission in July 2015[3] and was publicly launched in November 2015. Its sole stated aim is the abolition of Senedd Cymru / the Welsh Parliament, formerly known as the National Assembly for Wales. The party was initially led by its co-founder David Bevan.[3]

The party nominated candidates for each of the regional lists in the 2016 Assembly elections, garnering the sixth highest number of votes and outperforming the Green Party.[4] It did not however contest any constituency seats.

Richard Suchorzewski stood in the 2019 Newport West by-election, the first time the party had nominated a candidate for a Westminster seat. Suchorzewski stated that his main aim was to raise awareness of the party's message.[5] He campaigned on the cost of the Welsh Assembly, describing it as "a waste of money" and "an unnecessary tier of politics."[6] He also questioned the Welsh Government's use of taxpayers money with regards to M4 relief road and their failure to construct it,[7] a key issue in the by-election campaign.

Jonathan Harrington became leader of the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party in September 2019.

In November 2019, the Deputy Chairman of the Welsh Conservatives, Lee Canning, resigned and joined the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party.[8] Canning was appointed AWA's Head of Political Operations and aims to stand "in a key target seat" in the 2021 Senedd election.

In May 2020, Powys councillor Claire Mills quit the Conservatives and joined the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party, becoming the party's first and only elected representative in Welsh local government.[9]

Richard Suchorzewski, a businessman and former Conservative Party and UKIP member, took over as the new leader of Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party in June 2020. It was announced that the party would take on a major rebrand in preparation for the 2021 Senedd election. It was unclear if the party would continue to use the former name of the institution that it is seeking to abolish.[10][11]

Later in the same month Gareth Bennett, the former leader of the UKIP Senedd group and Independent MS, joined the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party.[12][13]

The Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party's sole aim is to abolish Senedd Cymru / the Welsh Parliament and reverse the process of devolution to Wales. In its place, the party proposes devolving more power to local authorities in Wales and has rejected calls to reduce their number.[14][15] The devolution of powers to local authorities would not include the law making or tax varying powers of the Senedd, which would return to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

• Scottish Unionist Party – Ulster Scot equivalent who advocate a similar issue, when to favour abolishing the region's devolved legislative system
• Devolution in Wales
• Unionism in Wales

• Official website