Project / Series
2026 Scotland and Wales Election Analysis
Overview
On 7 May 2026, voters will head to the polls in Scotland and Wales amid a challenging climate for public finances. After a turbulent five years which have included recovering from the Covid pandemic, a high-inflation period with a cost-of-living crisis, the 2026-2031 Parliamentary term will bring its own challenges amid tight settlements in the Block Grants in both Scotland and Wales.
In a series of reports, manifesto analysis, regular podcasts and events in Scotland, Wales and London, we will partner with the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University to cut through the complexity and highlight what those challenges are, what there is common across Wales and Scotland, and where approaches and priorities have and look set to differ.
This work is supported by the Nuffield Foundation. The Nuffield Foundation is an independent charitable trust with a mission to advance social well-being. It funds and undertakes rigorous research, encourages innovation and supports the use of sound evidence to inform social and economic policy, and improve people’s lives. The Nuffield Foundation is the founder and co-funder of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, the Ada Lovelace Institute and the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory. Find out more at: nuffieldfoundation.org.
The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Foundation.
Publications
What we're saying
Authors
João is Deputy Director and Senior Knowledge Exchange Fellow at the Fraser of Allander Institute. Previously, he was a Senior Fiscal Analyst at the Office for Budget Responsibility, where he led on analysis of long-term sustainability of the UK's public finances and on the effect of economic developments and fiscal policy on the UK's medium-term outlook.
Ciara is a Knowledge Exchange Associate at the Fraser of Allander Institute. Her main area of focus is macroeconomic and fiscal analysis. She has recently completed a secondment to the Scottish Fiscal Commission, where she worked as an Economic and Fiscal Analyst in the economy team forecasting macroeconomic conditions.
Mairi is the Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute. Previously, she was the Deputy Chief Executive of the Scottish Fiscal Commission and the Head of National Accounts at the Scottish Government and has over a decade of experience working in different areas of statistics and analysis.
Emma Congreve is Principal Knowledge Exchange Fellow and Deputy Director at the Fraser of Allander Institute. Emma's work at the Institute is focussed on policy analysis, covering a wide range of areas of social and economic policy. Emma is an experienced economist and has previously held roles as a senior economist at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and as an economic adviser within the Scottish Government.
Ed Gareth Poole
Ed is Reader in Reader in Politics at Cardiff University and part of the Wales Governance Centre
Guto Ifan
Guto is Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Cardiff University and part of the Wales Governance Centre
Owain Roberts
Owain is Research Assistant at Cardiff University's Wales Governance Centre