Plans to increase the number of Senedd members passed

Plans to change the size of the Senedd and the way that it’s elected have been backed by Senedd Members in a crucial vote which was the last chance that members had to alter those plans.

The changes as set out in the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill will be rubber-stamped in a vote next Wednesday and will be introduced in time for the next Welsh election in 2026.

The Welsh Government described it as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernise the Senedd” but the Conservatives said it was not the priority of people here in Wales.

Labour and Plaid Cymru members also rejected a Conservative move to hold a referendum on the proposals.

At the moment there are 60 Senedd Members or MSs. Under these plans that number would increase to 96.

Supporters say that more are needed because the Welsh Parliament has more law-making power than when it was first created and the Welsh Government needs more scrutiny. Opponents say it’s a waste of money creating more politicians.

And the way they’re elected would change. Currently we choose 40 from constituencies and 20 from a “top-up” list. The new system would see 16 new “super constituencies” each with six Senedd members.

You wouldn’t vote for an individual, you’d vote for a political party and the winners would be chosen from lists that the parties provide.

Supporters say that’s fairer and would reflect the votes all parties won. Opponents say it would destroy the link between voters and the person representing them.

There are other changes too, such as reducing the time between Senedd elections from five years to four and requiring that anyone wanting to become a Senedd Member must live here in Wales.

Mick Antoniw, who is the Welsh Government’s senior legal figure or Counsel General, said that “I believe that this bill represents a once in a generation opportunity to create a modern Senedd which reflects 21st century Wales, a more effective Senedd with greater ability and capacity to hold the Welsh Government and legislation to account and a Senedd whose size reflects its current responsibilities.”

The Conservatives’ Shadow Constitution minister Darren Millar said that his party continues to “have fundamental differences about the principles of this bill and the reforms that it seeks to impose.”

His party had introduced a large number of amendments to the bill but he said that “even if this bill had all of the amendments accepted to it, I think it's very unlikely that we'd give it our support.”

Senedd Members put aside political differences to back the principle behind a proposal from Plaid Cymru’s former leader Adam Price that would make it illegal to lie to the Welsh parliament, even though it won’t be included in the final version of the bill.

Mr Price told Senedd members that a number of other parliaments around the world have introduced such a ban and added that his proposal would be “about actually setting a core principle, which I think unites us all that we want to say in Wales that our democratic culture will have honesty, at its heart.”

The Conservative Darren Millar backed the principle saying that “We've got a duty to set an example to the public, and it's only right therefore that we promote in our own ranks the values that we want to see flourishing across society, and make it clear that failing to uphold those values by seeking to deliberately mislead people either in this Senedd or elsewhere, has clear consequences.”

Former Labour cabinet minister Lee Waters said that he had previously been “sceptical” by Mr Price’s proposals “but I agreed to speak to him further … and I must say I was persuaded and this is a sensible and reasonable step to take.”

Like him, the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Jane Dodds, had also put her name to the amendment.

She said that “By supporting this measure, we have an opportunity to send a powerful message to the people of Wales and the world, a message that confirms our commitments to conducting ourselves with dignity, integrity, and transparency.

“This amendment can serve as a step towards restoring public trust in the political process and setting an example for others to follow.”

The Counsel General said that “I support the general principle underpinning the proposal” but said it needed “detailed analysis of the policy and legal implications of a disqualifying offence or wilful deception.”

Mr Antoniw said that including it could risk a legal challenge to the bill by the UK Government and said that he could not support the amendment.

Mr Price said that he was pleased to hear the consensus and didn’t want to “fracture that consensus” so didn’t push for a vote on his amendment.

Another opposition idea met with cross-party support and won a promise from the Welsh Government to look at another way of making it reality.

The Conservatives had proposed what’s known as a recall system - a way of allowing voters to remove Senedd members between elections if they’re found to have done wrong.

Speakers from all parties agreed with the principle and so the Tories withdrew their amendment in order to start working towards a recall system using other Senedd procedures.

Where tempers flared was when the Conservatives tried to amend the Bill to require a referendum to be held before the changes are brought in.

Proposing it, Darren Millar claimed that there was no mandate for the change because, he said, in the 2021 Senedd election neither Labour nor Plaid Cymru spelled out details in their manifestos.

When his opponents insisted that they were included he said that they weren’t given any promise and that the parties were “like Arthur Daley trying to sell a dodgy car and in the small print somewhere, someone signing up and saying, ‘Yes, yes, yes, I agree with all of the terms and conditions that you haven’t given to me in detail.’ That is what we find Labour and Plaid Cymru being in a position of.”

That brought a rare intervention from the former First Minister Mark Drakeford who said that “Let me just assure the Member that the fact that he doesn't recall something is no evidence of it not having happened.

“Time after time during the election I made it clear in interviews, in broadcasts, in debates that my party stood for a reform of this Senedd along the lines that are now in front of it. No referendum of any sort is required.”

The debate descended into claim and counterclaim leading Plaid Cymru’s Heledd Fychan to say that “It's really disappointing to see a democracy turned into a pantomime.”Counsel General poked fun of the Shadow Minister saying that “things had been going so well up until now and you've managed to provoke a scrap. You must remind me never to go with you to a soccer match, that's all I can say.”

But the scrap didn’t stop the amendments being rejected which led to applause when the Llywydd declared the Bill to have passed Stage 3.

There’ll be no further changes when the Bill comes back to the Senedd next Wednesday.

It’ll face a final vote - effectively a rubber-stamping - before it gets sent to the King for Royal Assent.

Once that’s happened it’ll become law and the changes will be introduced in time for the next Senedd Election in 2026.

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