Following Plaid Cymru pressure, the Westminster Government has u-turned on protecting the status of Ynys Môn in its Parliamentary Constituencies Bill.

The legislation which seeks to reform constituencies for Westminster elections will cut the number of constituencies in Wales in order to increase the number in England.

As originally drafted the Bill failed to protect the constituency, which has existed in some form since the 16th century. Plaid Cymru had long-campaigned for the island constituency of Ynys Môn to be protected like other islands, such as the Isle of Wight.

Plaid MP Ben Lake, who sits on the Bill Committee, had tabled a number of amendments seeking to protect the constituency.

Responding to the u-turn, Ynys Môn Member of the Senedd Rhun ap Iorwerth said:

“This is excellent news for the identity and democratic independence of Ynys Mon – thanks in great part to consistent pressure from Plaid Cymru. I gave evidence the last time the Boudary Commission considered this, and argued then as I argue now, that an island’s boundary is not arbitrary, and that’s why Ynys Mon has been a democratic unit at local government and parliamentary level for centuries.

“To ‘bolt-on’ a part of the mainland to the island just to make up the population would have done a great a disservice to all those represented – on both sides of the bridges.

“While Westminster still has power over so many areas of policy in Wales it is only right that our nation is properly represented.”