In the Stage 3 debate on Senedd Reform in the Welsh Parliament this week, Clwyd West MS and Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for the Constitution, Darren Millar, called for a referendum on the Labour Welsh Government’s plans to spend tens of millions on more politicians and to change the way in which people vote.  

Darren told Welsh Government Ministers that they have no mandate for the reforms and said if the proposals were put to the public they would “go down like a cold cup of sick”.

Speaking in the debate, he said:

“I know that Labour and Plaid have claimed many, many times that their manifestos from the last Senedd election give them a mandate to push through these particular measures… none of the proposals that are before us stack up with the clear commitments that were in the Plaid manifesto for STV (Single Transferable Vote), or the commitments from the Labour Party, which were so unclear that it wouldn’t be fair to say that that amounted to any kind of mandate from the public to bring forward the proposals before us.

“So, the passages in your manifestos that refer to Senedd reform are not a clear mandate to increase the number of Senedd Members, to change the Senedd voting system, or to spend what amounts to tens of millions of pounds every single year when these changes are implemented.”

Darren put forward an amendment requiring a referendum to be held before any reforms around extra Members of the Senedd, or changes to the voting system, can be implemented.

Addressing Welsh Government Ministers, he said:

“I don't recall ever seeing you mention closed lists, 96 Members, tens of millions of pounds. And that's why I think that it's incumbent upon us all to say that the public deserve their say. What are you afraid of in allowing the public to have their say?

“The reason that you're afraid of allowing the public to have their say is because they will tell you what they think, and they think this: they don't want more politicians, they want more doctors, dentists, nurses and teachers. That's what they want. And if there's money spare down the back of your sofa, they want it spending on the NHS and our schools, they don't want it spent on more luxury offices and they don't want it spent on increasing the number of Members of the Senedd. That's the truth. So, let's have a referendum, give people the opportunity to speak their mind.”