Drawing on their research, academics from Cardiff University have been offering vital analysis and commentary on the landmark Senedd election. Here is a round-up of some of their insights.
Stephen Cushion
Professor Stephen Cushion is Director of Research Development and Environment and Impact at the School of Journalism, Media and Culture. His research focuses on the impartiality of the news and how devolved issues are communicated to the public.
"UK-wide or English-produced news is still the main source of political information for most people in Wales. But on issues like health, education and law and order – where responsibilities differ across the UK – the reporting does not often explain which government is in charge. Our research shows how easily this can leave people confused about what applies to Wales, especially given that audiences increasingly scroll past headlines on social media without clicking through for context."
Maxwell Modell
Dr Maxwell Modell is a Research Associate investigating the impartiality of political news at the School of Journalism, Media and Culture.
"News items present parties arguing with one another, without independent assessment of their competing claims. In some cases, broadcasters simply set out multiple positions side by side, leaving viewers to make sense of them without any journalistic scrutiny. This might be explained by rules on impartiality. But in covering so many parties within a single news item, the breadth of perspectives can undermine the depth of analysis."
Keighley Perkins
Dr Keighley Perkins is a Research Associate at the School of Journalism, Media and Culture, whose research focuses on how political communication operates in high-stakes, ideologically charged environments.
"Rather than emphasising perceived disengagement, news coverage could do more to focus on the issues facing the next Welsh Government and to scrutinise party policy positions. This would help improve public understanding of what is at stake."
Melanie Jones
Professor Melanie Jones of Cardiff Business School specialises in economics and productivity. She is the Wales Forum Lead for the Wales Productivity Forum .
"The future performance of the Welsh Economy should be a key focus for the next Welsh Government. Central to improving living standards is addressing Wales' productivity gap with the rest of the UK. There is no short-term or easy fix. Instead, what is required is a long-term commitment, shared responsibility with businesses and public sector leaders, and investment in people and infrastructure."
Robert Huggins
Professor Robert Huggins of the School of Geography and Planning leads the newly launched City Region Co-Lab – a research group involving experts from academia, industry and government - dedicated to co-producing knowledge for sustainable and inclusive development.
"Cardiff is developing as a hub for creative and high-tech industries. But further afield, towards the South Wales Valleys, that regeneration is less obvious. Towns in these areas have not seen the redevelopment they should have had, and many people are still highly reliant on Cardiff for employment opportunities. After the election, the newly-formed Welsh Government will have much work to do to improve the prospects for people living there. We hope our research will provide the much-needed evidence to inform ambitious planning and development decisions."
Bethan Davies
Dr Bethan Davies is a Research Associate based in the Security, Crime and Intelligence Innovation Institute. Bethan's research areas include the problematic nature of misinformation and disinformation.
"There's much scope for misinformation and disinformation to spread, especially with the proliferation of AI-generated content, and it can be difficult to discern what is genuinely authentic. For example, we know from our work in this space that inauthentic accounts sometimes use the logos of reliable news outlets on their videos to trick the audience into thinking they're real."
Martin Innes
Professor Martin Innes is Co-director of the Security, Crime and Intelligence Innovation Institute. His research focuses on disinformation, leading a major international programme to understand the causes and consequences of distorting and deceptive digital communications.
"This country faces a persistent problem of foreign interests seeking to exert influence on, and to interfere in, our politics. There should be clear lead accountability at ministerial and senior official level for leading the work to combat foreign online political interference, with resources commensurate to the challenge this poses to our democracy."
Wales Governance Centre
Richard Wyn Jones
Professor Richard Wyn Jones' research focuses on contemporary Welsh politics, devolved politics in the UK and nationalism.
"Put simply, Wales is becoming less British. Younger voters, in particular, are turning their backs on a British national identity and identifying as either exclusively Welsh or, sometimes, eschewing national identity altogether. We know that those who feel Welsh but not British tend to be more left wing and socially liberal than those who feel both Welsh and British – excellent news for Plaid Cymru."
Laura McAllister
Laura McAllister is a Professor of Public Policy and the Governance of Wales. Laura's research centres on Welsh politics and elections, devolution and electoral reform. She works closely with the Senedd on constitutional and political matters.
"Whilst we definitely need much sharper focus on scrutiny and an ability to offer tough challenge to government if Senedd expansion is to be justified, we also need to avoid a behavioural race to the bottom if public trust in our politics is to be revitalised. We will have to show patience and understanding - commodities in short supply in politics - as May will signal the start of a hugely significant fresh chapter for Wales and our politics."
Guto Ifan
Guto Ifan is a lecturer in Politics and International Relations and is part of the Wales Fiscal Analysis (WFA) programme. Guto's research focuses on political economy, public finance, fiscal policy, and fiscal decentralisation.
"If the UK government sticks to its current spending plans, growing NHS spending alongside the various manifesto commitments on childcare, education, transport, social care and taxation will require significant cuts to some public services or tax increases. The manifestos are largely silent on how these trade-offs would be managed."
Jac Larner
Dr Jac Larner's research uses a political psychology framework and survey data to examine how identities and values shape political attitudes and electoral choices.
"If we take the general trend in polling, the signal is clear: the race for the largest party remains between Plaid Cymru and Reform UK, with every other party - including Labour, who were dominant in Welsh politics not two years ago — competing for a distant third place and below. What that framing obscures, however, is that finishing first may matter less than it appears. Whichever party leads on seats will face the same coalition arithmetic, and that arithmetic is far more favourable to Plaid than to Reform. Plaid has credible partners in Labour and the Greens; a combination of those parties can reach a working majority. Reform has far fewer options."
