'I'm deaf and feel excluded from Senedd elections'

As debate around the Senedd election hots up ahead of Thursday's vote, Amy Warrington feels excluded because she is deaf.

While all six main political parties released manifestos in English and Welsh, only one released a full-length British Sign Language version alongside it.

It comes just weeks after the Welsh government passed a bill to promote BSL more for around 900 people that rely on that form of communication in Wales.

"The lack of BSL manifestos makes me feel overlooked and excluded," said Amy, 25, from Penygroes, Gwynedd.

BSL has been recognised as an official language in Great Britain since 2022 and is Amy's first language.

It's an important part of Amy's communication and without it, accessing complex topics such as politics becomes more difficult.

"If BSL manifestos became more common, I would definitely feel more engaged in politics," added Amy.

"I would be more likely to follow, understand, and take part in political discussions and decisions.

"Providing BSL versions of manifestos isn't just an extra, it's essential for true accessibility and inclusion."

Plaid Cymru is the only party to provide a full-length BSL accessible manifesto released at the same time as their Welsh and English versions.

The Welsh Conservatives, who were behind the new Senedd BSL (Wales) law, did publish a nine-minute summary of their manifesto in BSL.

But that came almost two months after their Welsh and English versions, and three days after the register to vote deadline.

Welsh Labour did not release a BSL manifesto until the start of May.

BBC Wales asked for one on 24 April, and discovered it was published on 3 May - just five days before the election.

The Wales Green Party, the Welsh Liberal Democrats and Reform UK have not published BSL manifestos.

"It sends a message that deaf people are not being fully considered or prioritised when it comes to political communication," added Amy.

BSL is a visual language in its own right with its own grammar, and not a signed version of English or Welsh.

This means that reading English is basically like reading in a second language.

"People often say you should lip read, but it's mentally exhausting and it's really not very accurate," said Stuart Parkinson, who has congenital progressive deafness and no hearing at all.

"I think as a Deaf community, we deserve the same information, not a reduced amount.

"We should be treated equally. What does democracy mean if you don't have access to it?

"BSL is me, it's part of my identity and nothing should take that away."

In March, Stuart, from Cardiff, and the deaf community were celebrating the passing of the BSL (Wales) Bill that was backed by all parties in the Senedd.

It's a bill that ensures government and other bodies should promote, support and facilitate BSL in Wales.

It's not just the political priorities of parties that need explaining in BSL, but the 2026 Senedd election is different than previous ones because there's all new constituencies and a new voting system to explain.

Martin Griffiths from the British Deaf Association has recently been delivering workshops to deaf clubs around Wales explaining the changes.

"There are some deaf signers who have good skills in English but many would prefer the information in BSL but would be able to use English as a second option," he said.

"The majority of what we call typical or grassroots deaf BSL signers struggle with English.

"It feels as if the euphoria of this historic BSL (Wales) Bill passing through has perhaps been slightly deflated. People are thinking 'here we go again, we've been left out'.

"What we found was that approximately eight out of 10 people who attended suggested that they weren't going to register to vote or if they were registered they weren't going to vote. This was very disappointing."

According to data from the 2021 Office for National Statistics census, 891 people in Wales use BSL as their main form of communication - but organisations that work with the Deaf community estimate between 5,000 to 7,000 people are BSL signers in Wales.

A group that supports the Deaf community in Wales has explained why some deaf people are unable to rely on written manifestos.

"Deaf people face barriers to English due to a combination of factors - English being a second language in the same way as Welsh to English is," said Alison Bryan of the BSL Wales Consortium.

"Language deprivation and the lack of early language exposure for a critical window during childhood which impacts language development for spoken languages.

"Deaf people consume information visually from birth so visual languages fit in with that."

The Welsh Conservatives, who initiated the British Sign Language Bill in the Senedd, said they "worked with the British Deaf Association to deliver a BSL version of the manifesto" - although it was a nine-minute cutdown version.

Welsh Labour, who offered a BSL version of their Senedd election manifesto on request, said it "proudly supported the recent BSL Bill in the Senedd... and if re-elected, we would work towards its obligations".

Plaid Cymru, the only party to create a full BSL manifesto, said: "No-one should face barriers to democratic participation."

Reform UK did not make a BSL manifesto but said it would "continue to be committed to engaging with the deaf community, having voted in favour of the British Sign Language (Wales) Bill".

The Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Wales Green Party have also been asked to comment.