Welsh Parliament elections - Ask your candidates to support leisure time music

On 7 May 2026, the Welsh electorate will go to the polls to vote in the Senedd election. Campaigning periods are a great time for constituents to speak to future decision makers about leisure time music, and what they can do to make sure the environment for leisure-time music making is protected and improved.

You may get a chance to speak to candidates face to face, or you may be interested in writing an email to candidates - so we have put together our asks into a 1 page PDF to be used as a prompt and to make it easy to share with your own group members, which you can download below:

Welsh elections 2026 doorstep asks:

Making Music is the UK’s membership organisation for leisure-time music. We are dedicated to empowering everyone, whatever their background or experience, to come together in their community to make or present their kind of music. This year we are celebrating 90 years of supporting music groups. 

We have 171 groups in Wales (4,000 in the UK), from large established orchestral and choral societies to small emerging community groups and includes festivals and concert promoting societies. There are groups in every local authority in Wales, run mostly by volunteers for non-professional music makers and community audiences: anything from community choirs, male voice choirs, orchestras, drumming groups, jazz ensembles, choral societies and much more. Candidates can search for groups on the Making Music find a group page.
 

As part of improving our cultural well-being as part of Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act, we are asking for more support and recognition of leisure-time music groups. We are focused on the two well-being goals for Wales:  a Wales of more cohesive communities and a Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language. Many of our groups champion and celebrate the Welsh language. It may be that their groups is run through the medium of Welsh or that they choose to perform a number of songs in Welsh. The Welsh language is an integral part of a vibrant culture in many areas of Wales and this is expressed through our groups. It ensures that Welsh music (sung and played and promoted) is showcased in the local community. 

SPACES FOR MUSIC MAKING
It is well-known that leisure-time music groups bring people together from various communities. All music groups contribute enormously to the culture, local, national and sometimes international. We ask candidates to help our groups by protecting their infrastructure of venues and spaces in their communities to rehearse and perform. To have cohesive communities, these spaces used for cultural activity need to be considered as essential. Art centres and theatres are important, but even more vital are the numerous churches, community halls and schools that over 90% of our groups use. Every community in Wales should have music rehearsal and performances spaces that are fit for purpose, financially and physically accessible with suitable transport links. 

CULTURE BILL
We ask candidates to support a Culture Bill in the next Senedd term, to make culture a statutory requirement for public bodies, backed by a Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Arts and Sport. Culture is an essential part of our nation and for the public's mental and physical well-being in the long-term, it is vital it becomes a statutory requirement.
We’re happy to talk about our manifesto asks on the phone, online or in person (our manager in Wales is based in Llanfyllin, North Powys)

CONTACT
Miranda Glen
miranda@makingmusic.org.uk
07708470976