Tory MS who missed crucial vote blames ‘IT challenges’
QUESTIONS have emerged over the statement made by a Tory Member of the Senedd who missed a crucial vote on Covid passes on Tuesday night, leading to the Labour policy being approved.
Gareth Davies, MS for Vale of Clwyd, failed to register his vote against Covid passes being introduced in Wales, meaning the policy passed the Senedd by 28 votes to 27 and will come into force in Wales on Monday.
In a statement released yesterday lunchtime, Mr Davies blamed IT issues for him being unable to register his vote against the Welsh Government motion. Mr Davies said he was at his party’s conference in Manchester and said he was “unable to access the voting system”.
In a subsequent statement, he said he had been unable to take up the offer of phoning in his vote directly to Llywydd Elin Jones because he was already on the phone to his own party staff members.
Presiding Officer Elin Jones said she had given her personal phone number to Mr Millar during the break from 6.07pm to 6.19pm to give Mr Davies an opportunity to telephone her directly and register his vote orally, which could then have counted towards the final tally.
Another MS who was in the chamber has told the Western Mail Mr Davies was given a number of chances to contact the Presiding Officer while proceedings were suspended and not broadcast, and
at one point, Ms Jones set a 30-second timer on her phone and told the Conservative group chief whip she would resume proceedings if he hadn’t called in that time.
Mr Davies’ statement reads: “I am deeply upset, frustrated and angry at last night’s events and my inability to cast a vote against vaccine passports. Yesterday evening, IT challenges meant that I was unable to access the voting system.
“Throughout the voting period, I was speaking with the Chief Whip and Welsh Conservative staff members in an attempt to solve the IT issues. The Senedd currently operates under a hybrid system that means only half of our representatives can vote in the chamber, with others voting remotely from elsewhere.
“I was working and representing the group at the Conservative Party conference and I would have been able to vote remotely if I’d have been able to access the remote voting tools. Concerns have been raised with the Senedd’s ICT department and I will be making a personal statement in the Senedd later this afternoon.”
In a statement following the vote, Ms Jones said: “A member was not present for the vote on proposals for Covid passes. I gave every opportunity for the member to be present – including providing ICT support – but the member was unable to be contacted.
“For members to vote in the Senedd, they must be present, either in the chamber or on Zoom. It is a member’s responsibility to give themselves sufficient time to secure their Zoom connection in time for voting, just as it is for any member travelling to the Senedd to vote.”
Speaking in the Senedd yesterday, the Presiding Officer said she had only received the request for a personal statement from Mr Davies at 1.30pm, when plenary began. She said she had not had time to “consider that request let alone agree to it when just before 2.15pm the contents of that statement had been shared with the press and on Twitter”.
“I consider that statement now in the public domain and no longer to be made to the Senedd”.