Leader of the Opposition in Wales

In the Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament, the office of Leader of the Opposition (Welsh: Arweinydd yr Wrthblaid) is held by the leader of the largest party group not in government. Since 27 June 2018, this has been Paul Davies of the Welsh Conservatives.[2]

Leader of the Opposition in the Senedd
Incumbent Paul Davies since 6 September 2018 Acting 27 June – 6 September 2018
Style	Member of the Senedd (MS)
Term length	While leader of the largest political party not in government
Inaugural holder	Dafydd Wigley
Formation	May 1999
Salary	£13,578 + £1,044 per group member (up to £37,601) in addition to £66,847 AM's salary [1]

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.

Between July 2007 and May 2011, Nick Bourne served as Leader of the Opposition, even though the Conservatives were the third largest group in the Assembly. This was a result of the Welsh Government's 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 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.[3] The Conservative group grew to 12 following Mark Reckless's defection from UKIP to the Conservative Group on 6 April 2017, and Andrew R. T. Davies was once again referred to as Leader of the Opposition.[4]