Clwyd West MS and Shadow Minister for North Wales, Darren Millar, is disappointed that his latest call for the people of Wales to be given a say on proposals to increase the number of Senedd Members from 60 to 96 has been rejected by Labour and Plaid Cymru.
Last week Daren led for the Conservatives on the Senedd Reform Bill and tabled amendments to:
- Change the voting system to allow people to vote for an individual candidate of their choice
- Introduce a system of recall so that MSs who misbehave should face a by-election
- Require a referendum to require any plans to increase the size of the Senedd or change the voting system for elections to be subject to a yes vote before they can be implemented.
While a number of Welsh Conservative amendments have been agreed to the Bill, the Senedd did support an important amendment to try and restrict the increase in Welsh ministers, Darren’s amendments to allow Welsh voters to recall politicians that fail to meet the public’s high standards, and to change the voting system to allow voters to vote for individual politicians of their choice were rejected by the Labour and Plaid.
Speaking in the Senedd at the start of the discussions, Darren said:
“I wish to make it clear that I, along with my Welsh Conservative colleagues and the overwhelming majority of the people of Wales, maintain our fundamental opposition to these unnecessary reforms.
“Wales does not need more politicians; we need more doctors and dentists. We don't need more Government Ministers; we need more nurses and teachers. And we don't need political parties in the Senedd putting their energies into closed candidate lists; we need to get to grips with NHS waiting lists, poor education standards, and light pay packets.”
He also referred to “the significant costs of these reforms, which the Welsh Government itself estimates to be just shy of £120 million over the eight-year appraisal period”.
He said:
“That's money that I, and Conservatives on these benches, firmly believe should be invested in our national health service, schools, housing and other public services. We don't believe that it should be invested in a job-creation scheme for politicians in Wales.”
He also said:
“One of the elements of this Bill that has been heavily criticised, and rightly so, is the shift to a voting system that will see 100 per cent of seats in the Senedd elected by a closed list voting system. It's a system that amounts, frankly, to a power grab by political parties, ripping power away from the hands of voters by preventing them from being able to vote for an individual candidate of their choice and putting the power firmly into the hands of political party members, who will dictate the order of candidates on lists, and therefore determine those who are most likely to be elected to this Senedd. It's a hugely detrimental step for Welsh democracy.
“If this Senedd reform Bill is ever to enter our statute books, it needs radical surgery before doing so. And it needs that surgery to ensure that it puts voter choice, Member accountability, and fairness at its heart. At present, the new voting system fails to achieve these aims, and that's why I've tabled scores of amendments to the Bill in advance of today, and I will be supporting others that seek to improve this Bill during Stage 2 proceedings.”
Tabling an amendment to introduce a system of recall so that MSs who misbehave should face a by-election, Darren said:
“I do think that we're missing an opportunity here to put something of significance on the face of the Bill that will make people have a greater incentive to behave in accordance with the high standards that members of the public expect of their elected representatives. “
Speaking afterwards, Darren added:
“The people of Wales deserve to have their say in a referendum, in which I am confident they would reject this pet project outright. As I said in last week’s meeting, ultimately what Wales really needs are more doctors, nurses, dentists and teachers – not more politicians.”
