Called to order: 'Detracting from the dignity of the Senedd'

With the Senedd 2021 election fast approaching, so too is the end of the parliamentary term that began in May 2016.

The Senedd's Standing Orders, or rules, state that the Llywydd (presiding officer) must call to order any member "who is guilty of discourteous or unbecoming conduct, is using disorderly, discriminatory or offensive language or language which detracts from the dignity of the Senedd".

The first few months of Elin Jones' time in the chair saw some behaviour which she described as "unfitting and unpleasant".

Since then she has admitted to being "very angry at times at how members behave in this chamber".

Here are some cases of conduct deemed out of order since those early days.

In March 2017, Labour's Alun Davies accused Conservative Darren Millar of being "too sheepish to admit" that "an austerity policy has failed".

Mr Millar did not seem to take offence, but Elin Jones said that "no members in this chamber are sheepish", adding "we'll have no more name-calling".

In the same month, UKIP's Neil Hamilton apologised for a remark allegedly directed at a Labour member after she said the triggering of Article 50, beginning the process of the UK leaving the European Union, was a "sad day".

AMs reported that Mr Hamilton had said "suicide is an option" while Eluned Morgan spoke.

Elin Jones repeatedly asked Mr Hamilton to say sorry for the remark.

He said that in deference to Ms Jones he would "apologise for whatever remark I am supposed to have made".

In July 2017 Neil McEvoy claimed "we're living in a one-party state, one facet of which is, in my opinion, incompetence or corruption".

Elin Jones told him to "carry on in language that is appropriate to this chamber".

When Mr McEvoy continued by saying "this Labour administration is either incompetent or it's corrupt", his microphone was turned off.

Mr McEvoy's microphone was also switched off by Elin Jones in May 2019.

He began a question by telling First Minister Mark Drakeford, "last time you arrogantly gave no answer to my question".

The Llywydd told him "there is always respect. There is no arrogance. Just pose your question and scrutinise the first minister".

But he repeated the assertion, the mic was muted with the Llywydd telling him "you have forfeited your right to ask the question".

Independent Neil McEvoy has been ruled out of order more times than any other member

It was Deputy Presiding Officer Ann Jones that ruled Mr McEvoy out of order in November 2019 when he claimed that former first minister Carwyn Jones "does have a strange relationship with the truth".

She told him, "you can't make accusations like that about a member of this assembly".

In November 2017, the then leader of the opposition in the Senedd, Conservative Andrew RT Davies, was heard by Labour AMs telling their colleague Lynne Neagle from a sedentary position that she had "taken the shilling".

He was told by Elin Jones that "questioning the integrity of Assembly Members is not appropriate, and Assembly Members in this chamber vote without fear or favour".

In December 2017, the then UKIP member Gareth Bennett was banned from speaking in the Senedd for comments he made about transgender rights - he claimed society could implode if there was too much "deviation from the norm".

The ban was lifted in January 2018 when he said he was "sorry that people took offence" but that he stood by the views he had expressed.

Elin Jones accepted that as an apology and warned members to always use "non-discriminatory" language.

In May 2018, UKIP's Neil Hamilton had his mic switched off by Ann Jones.

During questions to the commission that runs the institution, Mr Hamilton said that "commissioners themselves should lead by example… political orientation is important and describing other members as ..."

But Ann Jones intervened to move proceedings on. Commissioner Joyce Watson had previously referred to the "rabid dogs" of UKIP.

Conservative Janet Finch-Saunders had her mic switched off in July 2018 and told not to interrupt First Minister Carwyn Jones.

But she got away with using unparliamentary language when the Llywydd didn't hear, and the Record of Proceedings did not record, her telling the then first minister "You are a clown!"

Another member who escaped punishment was Lord Elis-Thomas.

Plaid Cymru members accused their former leader of swearing at his former colleagues during a heated debate.

Although Elin Jones said she was "satisfied" he "did use the term 'right wing shits' ", he did not face disciplinary action.

Elin Jones said she would remind Lord Elis-Thomas, who is now an independent, "such language is not acceptable"

In April 2019, UKIP's Senedd leader at the time was excluded for a week after he superimposed an AM's head on a woman in a low cut top in a video.

Gareth Bennett was mocking Labour's Joyce Watson in the YouTube clip. In the chamber, Mr Bennett went on to describe Douglas Bain, the acting Commissioner for Standards, as "a political hatchet man".

He withdrew the remark after Elin Jones said the "term of abuse" was not acceptable.

In November 2019, Elin Jones felt she had been "accused of bias" by the Brexit Party's Mark Reckless and asked him to withdraw that accusation.

His reply was "notwithstanding the truth or otherwise of the allegation, I withdraw it".

That, in turn led former first minister Carwyn Jones to say that Mark Reckless, "in what he said when he failed to withdraw, on your specific request, an allegation of bias in a way that was unconditional… [showed] a complete disregard, almost a contempt, for the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales".

Mark Reckless made an unconventional "withdrawal" of an accusation

A remarkably strong accusation that was not ruled out of order was made by the Labour member for Blaenau Gwent, Alun Davies.

"You're a racist" he told David Rowlands, then of the Brexit Party.

The only follow-up from that was a complaint by Mr Rowlands' colleague at the time, Mandy Jones that "on the Record of Proceedings, this comment actually follows my name being called" to speak by the Llywydd.

Mandy Jones also asked the Llywydd to rule on "whether Alun Davies's behaviour last week in the chamber was discourteous and distracted from the dignity of this place… I would like to know where we all stand in terms of this kind of name calling".

The Record as it stands

No ruling was made publicly in the chamber as a result of that request.

However, asked by the BBC, a Senedd spokeswoman said, "The Llywydd has dealt with this matter privately with the members involved.

"The Record has been reviewed and has been amended to more accurately reflect the exchange in the chamber. It confirms that no accusation of racism was made against Mandy Jones."

In April 2020, Neil McEvoy was broadcasting proceedings live on Facebook.

Elin Jones told him that was "in contravention to our Standing Orders", adding "I have asked for you to be removed from this meeting of the ssembly, and you will not be called during this debate".

The same month Health Minister Vaughan Gething apologised after swearing about a Labour colleague during a virtual meeting.

Mr Gething said he was embarrassed by his remarks.

The incident happened after Jenny Rathbone asked questions about the Welsh Government's coronavirus response.

In June 2020, when the meeting was being held entirely virtually due to the coronavirus, Neil McEvoy went alone to the Senedd chamber and broadcast himself there on social media.

Elin Jones said: "I will ask for that member to be removed now from the virtual Parliament, and we will be closing the chamber in due course.

"My advice to Mr McEvoy is not to play games with your Parliament."

Mr McEvoy has not apologised to the presiding officer, despite being told to so earlier this month, for a protest in the chamber.

He wore tape over his mouth and held a placard over her decision to reject his amendments to a debate's motion.

Without an apology Mr McEvoy is only allowed to speak if his tabled questions and amendments are chosen, but not intervene during debates or ask follow-ups to other people's questions.

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A quirk of the virtual or partially-virtual plenary meetings is that Elin Jones felt she needed to send guidance to all members because she noticed "a growing tendency for self-promotion on Zoom backgrounds".

She did not name anyone, but Labour members Huw Irranca-Davies and Jenny Rathbone were hardly subtle.

Huw Irranca-Davies' self-promotion was difficult to miss

Jenny Rathbone selected a picture of herself as background

Neil McEvoy was also told to leave the Siambr (Senedd chamber) by acting chair David Melding last week.

Mr McEvoy had claimed during Questions to the Senedd Commission - the body responsible for the parliament's day-to-day running - that he suffered "indirect racial discrimination" in the selection of questions to ministers, but Mr Melding said the commissioner Joyce Watson was not "qualified to speak" about the matter.

"This is racism in action" and "shame, shame" retorted Mr McEvoy before leaving the room.

With a member refusing to apologise and therefore partially barred from contributing to proceedings, a former group leader who openly questions the Llywydd's neutrality, and the potential for more point-scoring in the run-up to the May 2021 election, maintaining the "dignity of the Senedd" is an even more difficult task than usual.