The former leader of Plaid Cymru has expressed concerns over Welsh Labour’s aim to reform the government, calling it a “great danger.”
Legislation tabled by the Labour-run Welsh Government, as part of the cooperation agreement with Plaid Cymru, seeks to increase the number of Senedd members from 60 to 96 while also making changes to how they are elected.
Welsh Labour has had 100 years of single party dominance in the country. Backing the legislation in January, First Minister Mark Drakeford said that “democracy only flourishes if you tend the garden to which it is sowed.”
The Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) bill means that candidates’ names won’t appear on ballot papers.
In a closed-list electoral system, voters select political parties rather than individual candidates when casting their ballots.
Last month, a committee found “significant reservations” with the system could result in “voter choice being trumped by political party influence.”
On Monday, former leader of Plaid Cymru Dafydd Wigley warned the new reform will give power to a “party machine” as plans were approved this week to back, in principle, new legislation, making it ready for next the election in 2026.
Mr. Wigley was the leader of Plaid Cymru from 1981 to 1984 and again from 1991 to 2000.
96 Members
If the bill is implemented there will be 96 Senedd members compared with the current 60, replacing the current 40 constituencies that elect a single representative by first-past-the-post and 20 additional members that are chosen proportionally from five regions.Critics such as the Welsh Conservatives have called it a “power grab.”
In January Darren Millar, shadow minister for the constitution, said in a statement: “This constitutional navel gazing is a distraction from the issues which matter to the people of Wales.
“While there are some interesting aspects of this report which will require further consideration, the work of the Commission will not make ambulances arrive any faster, properly staff our schools or support Welsh businesses.
Shocked
Last week Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt said she was “shocked” by the plan and said an equivalent move for the UK Parliament on the same constituent-to-politician ratio would result in an increase from 650 MPs to 2,058.“Just to put this in context, on the same constituent-to-politician ratio as the plan they are outlining in Wales, if that were transferred to the House of Commons this chamber would have to accommodate 2,058 members of Parliament,” she said.
“That is Labour’s blueprint for governing Britain I think,” she added.
Responding to Ms. Mordaunt’s comments, a Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Wales is the most under-represented country in the UK—and the UK government has made this worse by cutting the number of Welsh MPs from 40 to 32 at the next general election.
“Our once-in-a-generation Senedd reform plans have been in progress since 2017 and will strengthen democracy in Wales.
“The changes—which are currently being debated by members of the Senedd—will create a modern Senedd better able to represent the people of Wales, with increased capacity to scrutinise, make laws, and hold the government to account.”
The Epoch Times has contacted the Welsh Government for comment.
