SENEDD ‘NEEDS 20-30 MORE POLITICIANS’
ASENEDD committee has recommended that the size of Wales’ legislature should be increased to 80 or 90 members.
There are currently 60 Members of the Senedd from 40 constituency seats and 20 regional seats around Wales.
The Committee on Senedd Electoral Reform says that is not enough to fulfil the institution’s responsibilities scrutinising the Welsh Government and making laws.
It also wants a more proportional electoral system introduced after the Senedd elections next year so that the 2026 elections are conducted under the Single Transferable Vote system in which voters rank candidates.
The committee said this system was both simple and maintained “a clear constituency link between constituents and their representatives”.
The Welsh Conservatives and the Brexit Party boycotted the committee, which was made up of Labour and Plaid Cymru Members of the Senedd.
To improve diversity in the Senedd, the committee also wants to set up a fund to support people with disabilities and childcare needs – and to require parties to publish diversity strategies.
Committee chair Dawn Bowden said: “Devolution has been an exciting journey and the Senedd we have today looks radically different from how it did when it was established over 20 years ago. With expanded powers and responsibilities, it now makes decisions on laws that affect every aspect of peoples’ lives and has responsibility for setting some tax rates.
“We believe that the people of Wales would be better served by a Senedd which has the right number of Members. A larger Senedd would be cost-effective, as Members would be better able to hold the Welsh Government to account for its spending and decisions, and pass better legislation, as well as helping people across Wales with their problems.
The committee’s recommendations are based on the conclusions of an expert panel on Assembly Electoral Reform, whose report in 2017 paved the way for 16 and 17-year-olds to get the vote in council and Senedd elections in Wales.
The panel’s chair Professor Laura McAllister said: “The issue of [the Senedd’s] size will not go away and needs addressing as soon as possible.
“Proper capacity to scrutinise the actions of government and other agencies has been further highlighted during recent events, including the pandemic and Britain’s exit from the EU. Effective scrutiny will pay for itself.
“I am very glad too that the Committee has reinforced the Expert Panel’s commitment to creating a more proportional electoral system to elect a larger Senedd. Equal mandates, voter choice and diversity should be at the heart of a new electoral system.”
Responding to the report, Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price said: “At a time when devolution is under direct assault from Westminster, we need now more than ever before a strengthened Senedd.
“Better value for money than any £5bn refurbishment to Westminster, Plaid Cymru has long maintained that our national parliament needs more powers and that our electoral system needs urgent reform.
“Our parliament is too small and that represents a big danger to the health of our democracy. Despite having ample opportunity over the last five years, the Labour Party have refused to deliver a stronger Senedd – with more representation and a fairer electoral system – preferring instead to defend the status quo.
“This is not a problem that can be put off until tomorrow – it’s a crisis in our democracy that we have to put right today.”
Commenting on the recomendation by the Committee for Senedd Electoral Reform that the Senedd moves to the Single Transferable Vote (STV) by 2026, a spokesperson for the Welsh Liberal Democrats said: “Liberal Democrats have long called for a truly democratic voting system which delivers maximum and equal power to the voter and gives the people of Wales a representative Senedd that reflects the way they vote.
“STV is a such a simple system that even a young child can understand it. It is used in countless parliaments around the world as well as by sports clubs and societies to elect chairs and captains due to its simplicity and fairness.
“We completely support this proposal and encourage other parties to do the same.”
Welsh Conservative Senedd leader Paul Davies said: “This is a report which represents the views of just two parties in the Welsh Parliament and currently there is no public appetite for an increase in the number of politicians.
“The current voting system enables a roughly proportional Senedd while maintaining local accountability with two-thirds of Members of the Welsh Parliament elected on a first past the post basis; we see no reason to change it.”