Welsh Election Manifesto Roundup

Published: 23 April 2026

As I write with a hopeful spring breeze gently blowing through my office window, Seismic political change is afoot here in Wales as Labour look set to lose control of the Senedd for the first time in over 20 years and a confident Plaid Cymru and insurgent Reform and Green parties seek to step up.  

The traditional two-party political system will likely be left in tatters as a new proportional voting system comes into force alongside a change in constituency boundaries that will see an increase of 36 new members of the Senedd.  

Amid the swirl of speculation, political soothsaying and, quite frankly, a high degree of confusion from the Welsh public, we wanted to cut through the noise and see how the current manifestos stack up for National Parks in Wales against our Manifesto for Action, which we published with the Alliance for Welsh Designated Landscapes almost a year ago to the day.   

Welsh Labour 

Let’s start with Labour, the only political party to make a clear commitment to establishing the Glyndŵr National Park; a process which they started in 2021. The future of the Park now rests on the results of a recently announced public inquiry and the support of a future Welsh Government.  

Labour maintain their commitment to net zero and protecting 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030 which is vital for our National Parks, and the promise to increase restrictions on the shooting of gamebirds is long-awaited. As is the “development of new jobs and skills in flood defense, marine and nature restoration” of which National Parks will want a slice of through the emergent Nature Service.  

A very welcome new Community Right to Buy in Labour’s manifesto is echoed in similar forms by Plaid and the Green party. This is something we have advocated for in our Health Check to improve community ownership of land within National Parks. 

Labour recently announced their Nature Estate Cymru which they state in the manifesto will “drive action on the nature and climate emergencies”. National Park Authorities and eNGOs like RSPB are a part of this “estate”, but this hurriedly announced project in the last few months has little meat on the bones so far. 

Labour’s commitment to a Nature Investment Summit is something of great importance for National Parks looking to leverage in new money to support nature recovery. As is continuing to develop the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) which Reform and the Conservatives have both promised to axe. We need the SFS to go much further in prioritising landscape recovery in the collaborative layer rather than simply preserving the status quo as the current SFS does.  

Reform 

On to Reform who are polling high and are set to trouble Plaid Cymru for the top spot if polls are to be believed. An AI generated image of tree-less hills, exclusively daffodil-covered riverbanks, and a misspelt Welsh translation on the manifesto cover, however, doesn’t drive overwhelming confidence that Reform understands the reality of the Welsh landscape.  

The content of the manifesto certainly doesn’t give any greater comfort for National Parks with no mention of landscapes or National Parks throughout. The main focus of the Manifesto is on repealing sustainability requirements for housing, ending net zero targets, scraping legislation that hinders major development, axing Natural Resources Wales (NRW) entirely, and ending the “tourism tax”.  

The promise to “end political indoctrination in heritage” organisations, as well as the end to funding of NPOs promoting civic society, is a major risk to organisations such as National Park Authorities working to ensure access to National Parks is for everyone.  

An unabashed pitch to farmers focuses on food security and the deregulation of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones, reforming the SFS (no details on how), maintaining game shooting and killing off existing European environmental law; all of which risk the health of our National Parks in a profound way.  

Welsh Conservatives 

The Conservative manifesto is filled with similar language of deregulation, axing the SFS and scraping NRW. We also know that they are opposed to the Glyndŵr National Park in previous statements but there is no mention within the Manifesto of National Parks at all.  

Establishing a £20 million Wildlife Wales fund is to be welcomed but the level of funding needed to restore wildlife in Wales is much greater than that in our National Parks and landscapes alone. Wales Environment Link have estimated an additional £438 million per year in their Pathways to 2030 report. A £100 million boost for the farming budget is also welcomed, but it is unclear what will be done with it if the SFS is scraped in favour of a “food security first scheme”. 

Welsh Liberal Democrats 

The Liberal Democrats’ manifesto is light on detail for land use or National Parks, but environmental policies are organised around a “clean up our rivers and seas” headline. There are commitments to legally binding targets to “double nature” by 2050, funding NRW to perform their regulatory duties better, reducing regulations to facilitate natural solutions and passing a Wildlife Act for Wales. A catchment-based approach is advocated for alongside more nature-based solutions to store carbon and reduce flooding. £50m for nature-friendly farming is welcomed but again feels like a figure-in-the-air sum which won’t touch the sides of what is required across the country.       

Plaid Cymru 

Plaid mention National Parks once in their chunky 74-page Manifesto with a commitment to “examining options for making cultural provision a statutory requirement for public bodies” in a new Culture Act. ‘Rural resilience’ is a big theme for the party with their Rural Development Strategy and a re-established National Development Agency for Wales. Both could carry benefits for National Parks, but we would need to see more detail on what these contain.  

 Plaid include detail on improving horticultural food production and a multi-year funding cycle for the SFS, but no clarity on how they might supercharge funding in the SFS to deliver more for nature rather than maintain the status quo. Commitments to accelerate net zero are boosted through community energy ownership, and a Climate and Nature Action Plan for Wales which includes green jobs, support for Nature Service Wales and the “protection and restoration of nature-rich landscapes”. This is intended to halt biodiversity loss and achieve “substantive recovery by 2050”. How much of this will be funnelled toward National Parks?  

As with Labour, a ban on the sale of horticultural peat is promised along with more peatland restoration and natural flood protection. A review of spatial planning is promised, including “marine planning and the sustainability of coastal and marine environment.” Plaid cite the Gwynedd and Eryri Sustainable Visitor Economy Strategic Plan as a model for sustainable tourism, and they remain committed to the visitor levy and 182-day rule for holiday lets which has been a boost for places like Eryri.   

The Green Party  

When we come to the Green Party Manifesto we see our first real commitment to reforming the purposes of National Parks alongside a host of other bold policy proposals which will likely have a material impact on National Parks. The Greens are promising to reform legislation so that “biodiversity recovery becomes a core purpose” of National Parks as part of their strategy to restore nature. None of the other parties have committed reforming purposes, despite the 2022 Biodiversity Deep Dive report recommending Welsh Government should “unlock the potential of National Parks” and reforming governance, purposes and duties. We would also want to see the Greens go one step further and include promises to reform governance in National Park Authorities and improve duties on public bodies.  

Other eye-catching nature policies include a national rewilding strategy and bringing 70% of protected sites into favourable condition with legal biodiversity targets also. Additional resource for Natural Resources Wales and a continued commitment to 30by30 underlines their commitment to this nature agenda.  

The Greens are looking to accelerate net zero targets with more on and offshore wind capacity and land use gets plenty of attention through a commitment to a land use framework, a Land Reform Act and a Community Land Fund. All of which could be transformational for how land is managed and used in National Parks.  

A national ranger service, a Welsh Right to Roam and permitted responsible backpack camping in appropriate areas will help improve access in National Parks, and policies to restore the coasts and seas are exciting for our National Marine Park work. It is also pleasing to see language in the manifesto which seeks to push the SFS much further than the other parties commit to. Collaborative projects at a “landscape scale” are being encouraged with the optional and collaborative layers to receive two-thirds of the SFS funding; a vitally important reallocation of money which National Parks could benefit from.    

At Campaign for National Parks we look forward to working with the next Welsh Government and Senedd members across the elected political parties to support National Parks for future generations to enjoy. Read our Manifesto for Action and if you want to see wilder National Parks for all, join our movement.