Welsh Parliament: More politicians plan could reduce choice - report

The Senedd, or Welsh Parliament, is based in Cardiff Bay

A plan for more Senedd politicians could actually reduce the choice voters have at the ballot box, a cross-party committee has said.

When the Welsh Parliament is expanded to 96 members at the next election in 2026 voters will get one vote to support a party, rather than a person.

There are concerns it could erode the link members of the public have with the politicians they elect.

The Welsh government said it would consider the report.

The Senedd's reform bill committee, which has scrutinised the Welsh government's planned new law, does not propose an alternative system in a report published on Friday.

Its members, from Labour, the Conservatives and Plaid Cymru, call on the government to work across the parties to boost voter choice.

Under the plan the Senedd would expand from 60 to 96 members, all elected through party lists.

That is a change from the system used at the last election, where voters had two votes to elect a local politician and support a party in their region.

Candidates will be elected according to the proportion of voters that supported their parties. The bill would see 16 constituencies in Wales, with six members in each.

The closed list system backed by Labour and Plaid Cymru has already been criticised for potentially eroding trust in politicians.

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David Rees, Labour Aberavon MS and chair of the Welsh Parliament's reform bill committee, said the changes will take away "the voters' choice for who they want".

He said the public would be able "to vote for which party they want, but they won't be able to vote for which person in that party they want, because that will be down to the parties".

"We want to try to see voter choice being made more explicit and allow the voter to decide who they want."

His report said the committee had heard evidence the system would prioritise the influence and wishes of political parties over voters, and erode the link between politicians and their constituents.

It could also introduce an effective threshold of 12% of the vote to get elected, with implications for smaller parties and individuals.

But the committee did not reach a view on an alternative system such as the single transferable vote, where the public rank individual candidates in preference.

Instead, the politicians urged the government to work with all of the Senedd's parties to reach an agreement on amendments to provide "greater voter choice".

If the government keeps the proposed system the committee said the names of candidates should be included on ballot papers.

Not unanimous

The reform committee made 50 recommendations as part of its work scrutinising the reform law, which is currently going through the Welsh Parliament.

It was not unanimous on everything - Welsh Conservative member Darren Millar disagreed with the recommendation that the Senedd should back the general principle of the law.

The shadow constitution minister said: "Proposing to increase the size of the Welsh Parliament by 60% while cutting budgets for public services exposes the warped sense of priorities that is typical of Labour and Plaid politicians."

Those who stand will be required to be resident in Wales - but the report said a "potential loophole" would mean someone could qualify via a second home.

The Senedd members called for the loophole to be closed.

The report also said it was disappointing a plan to move to four-year long terms - Senedd terms are currently five-years long - had not been subject of consultation.

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth, who supports the plan, said: "Our preference for an alternative system is well documented, but it was inevitable that there would need to be a compromise in order to be able to move forward with a bold programme of reform for 2026."

He said the party will seek to ensure a review mechanism in the law "is used to enable change by 2030".

A Welsh government spokesperson said: "We have received the reports from the reform bill, finance, and legislation, justice and constitution committees and will consider the recommendations in detail."

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