Something historic happened yesterday, something good.

What happened in the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) was the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill passed and did so with over 2/3rds of the chamber voting in favour.

News about Wales barely registers beyond its borders, news about politics in Wales barely registers within. It’s not surprising when the soap opera of Westminster looms large.

I mean, yesterday the Senedd decided to bring democracy in Wales into the 21^st century but that pales into insignificance when faced with an MP, leaving a party to go to another one even though she isn’t going to be an MP this time next year.

For the nation, its people and its democracy. It’s historic and we should be shouting it from the rooftops.

Almost 25 years to the day since the birth of devolution the decision was taken to increase the size of the Senedd from 60 to 96 members. Voting for more politicians is never going to get you an open top bus procession through the streets of Fishguard, Pwllheli or Llansantffraid ym mechain but in anything you do, you need the right number of people to do the job properly and this is a case in point.

Back in 1999, the original 60-member assembly was designed for a time when it had no powers to make legislation or raise taxes. It was half the size of the Scottish Parliament, and smaller than many Welsh councils. Today the Senedd oversees over £23bn in Welsh Government spending and passes legislation that affects key services such as health, education, and transport. Its powers and responsibilities have grown and therefore it is only right that its size does.

Back in 2020 Wales’ Auditor General said “Good scrutiny means good legislation, and good legislation pays for itself…a 0.17% annual saving, or improvement in value, in Welsh Government spending, would pay for 30 extra members.”

It gets even better.

Another nail in the coffin for First Past the Post

The bill also means that the Senedd will have a new electoral system for the next elections and the good news for us, is that it’s another nail in the coffin for First Past the Post in these isles. Not everything is sweetness and light though, any move to a fully proportional system is a step in the right direction but the decision to adopt a closed list system of PR, under which voters vote for a party rather than a named candidate, feels more like a sidestep.

We need a better, fairer system and that’s the Single Transferable Vote.

It means our work to make sure the people of Wales get the democracy they deserve continues.

ERS Cymru has campaigned tirelessly over the last few years to secure this much needed legislation along with other partners in civil society.

A change welcomed across Wales

The passing of the bill was also welcomed by other civil society organisations across Wales, including the Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA) and the Women’s Equality Network (WEN) Wales.

Joe Rossiter, Co-Director of the Institute of Welsh Affairs, said:

“Today marks the next chapter in the ever-evolving story of devolution in Wales.

“As powers and responsibilities of the Senedd have grown over the past twenty-five years, it is vital that the Senedd’s capacity and capability continue to meet these shifting needs. The passing of the Bill today is an acknowledgement of the need to create a fit-for-purpose Senedd, which matches its growing list of responsibilities.

“Whilst today is a moment to celebrate progress made, the case for further reform remains. The closed list voting system established in the Bill, whilst more proportionate than first-past-the-post, doesn’t go far enough to create a Senedd which reflects votes.

“The passing of the Bill today is a step towards a more democratic Wales, but it is far from the last step on that journey.”

Victoria Vasey, Director of WEN Wales, added:

“Today marks a historic moment on a journey towards a more effective parliament for the people of Wales. The evidence is clear that a bigger Senedd is better equipped to properly scrutinise policy and legislation, which can lead to better decisions for all of us.

“While the passing of this legislation is a milestone, capacity isn’t everything. An effective parliament is one that represents its population, where women have an equal say and all protected characteristics and marginalised communities come together to make decision on the future of their country.

“We therefore welcome this legislation as part of a package of Senedd reform proposals, including legislation to encourage the election of a gender-balanced Senedd which is currently passing through the Senedd.

“We remain concerned about the closed list system, which will increase the power of political parties vs voter choice. We ask that this is kept under review and urge all political parties to do their bit towards making the most of the opportunity to promote equal and diverse representation in an expanded Senedd.

“This a pivotal moment in the story of Welsh devolution. Twenty-five years after the first elections to the Senedd, this Bill rights a historical inequality by finally bringing the Welsh parliament into line with the other devolved assemblies in the UK. Before this, Wales had a parliament less than half the size of Scotland’s, which was also the same size or smaller than nearly half of Welsh councils.”

The additional Senedd Members are badly needed to ensure that every decision the Welsh Government takes – decisions that affect every person in Wales – is properly looked at. This is an investment in better accountability so that problems are spotted earlier, and public money is spent more efficiently. And that is good for all of us.

Yesterday in the Senedd, the First Minister, Mark Drakeford, said “democracy only flourishes if you tend the garden to which it is sowed”. He was speaking in a statement around the recent publication of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales’ final report.

Yet, that theme continued throughout the day in the Siambr (Senedd Chamber) as we witnessed the next step in the Welsh Parliament’s democratic coming of age, with Members voting to approve the first stage of the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill.

Discussions around the contents of this Bill have been taking place for almost the entirety of the Senedd’s existence and finally looks to be moving forward.

What will the Bill introduce?

This is the legislation that would deliver the long-awaited increase in Senedd Members, something ERS Cymru has been calling for for over a decade and was first mooted by the Kilbrandon Commission in 1973, way before the Senedd was even established. If passed, this Bill will take the Senedd from a paltry 60 members to 96, in line with other devolved institutions across the UK.

The Bill also proposes a change to the Senedd’s voting system. Moving from the Additional Members System to a full Closed List system and altering the constituency boundaries, pairing the 32 new Westminster constituencies to create 16 multi member wards of 6 members in each.

Investing in Welsh democracy

The debate last night was one of consensus between many parties, with one outlier. Welsh Labour, Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Liberal Democrats supported the first stage of this legislation, while the Welsh Conservatives voted against.

The striking thing about the debate was how much it captured the need to invest in our democracy.  While introducing the legislation, the Counsel General Mick Antoniw said this Bill was an “investment in the modernisation of our democracy and its ability to scrutinise government”.

This idea of democracy being something to be tended to, or to invest in, is the very basis for this legislation. This Bill is a recognition of something that has long been known, that the arrangements that the Senedd was established with in 1999 are not sufficient for a fully functioning national parliament.

And let’s be honest. There are many challenges to Wales currently, both economically and in terms of our education and health systems. But getting our democracy right is fundamental to making Wales flourish as a nation. An investment in scrutiny- our checks and balances- ensures that Ministers are held to account. It puts more expert eyes on every line in the budget and strengthens committees that oversee vital legislation.

What’s the next step?

Whilst the Bill has passed its first hurdle with last night’s vote, the finishing line is still far away. At the next stage of its legislative journey Members will be able to table amendments. It is here we hope to see further consideration on the proposed voting system.

We have significant concerns that the Closed List system will remove voter choice as voters will not be able to vote for individual candidates. While there are some reassurances in the legislation around a review process immediately following the 2026 election, which the First Minister alluded to in a discussion with the Institute for Government last week where he maintained that Closed Lists will only be in place for the first election after this Bill passes, we do believe this can still be strengthened at the next stage for this Bill. Opening up or making lists more flexible, so that voters can still back their favoured individual candidate would remedy many of these concerns and possibly create a more sustainable system.

If that review process is also going to be relied on then it must be as strong as it can be. Embedding metrics like voter choice and proportionality into the legislation is key to its long term success.

As the Bill progresses through the Senedd we hope it is strengthened in the ways we have outlined above and ultimately that this Bill is delivered and comes into effect in time for the 2026 elections. With tweaks, this package can represent a giant leap forward for our Parliament. Members of the Senedd have an important role to play in this garden of democracy and it requires careful tending to.

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Next year the Senedd will mark a quarter of a century since its establishment. For many of those 25 years it has been apparent that the Senedd is too small. At just 60 members the Welsh Parliament is currently dwarfed by the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Scottish Parliament and not least, nearly half of the councils in Wales.

The first report officially calling for the Senedd to increase in size was released way back in 2004 and nearly two decades later we are finally seeing progress.

More members means more scrutiny

This week the Welsh Government introduced the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill. This Bill will finally deliver long overdue reforms to the size of the Senedd, increasing it from 60 to 96 members. 

This will shore up the Senedd’s vital scrutiny function, better holding the Welsh Government to account. The government spends over £20bn each year on key public services, affecting our health, education and our jobs. It is only right that there are enough people in the parliament to properly examine budgets and go through legislation line by line to check for any mistakes. Good scrutiny pays for itself and poor scrutiny leads to poor decisions going unchallenged. 

Alongside plans to increase the capacity of the Senedd the Welsh Government have also proposed changing its electoral system. It is really important that the Senedd has enough members to carry out its work, but it is equally important that they are elected in a fair and transparent way. 

A new electoral system for Wales

The voting system proposed by the Welsh Government is a closed proportional list system, where voters pick a party rather than individual candidates. The system removes the public’s chance to vote for their preferred candidate, removing the key personal link between voters and their elected representatives. It is important that the Senedd accurately represents the way the people of Wales voted. 

The problem with this system is that it limits accountability by making it harder to vote out someone not doing a good job.

Both the Expert Panel back in 2017 and a committee in the previous Senedd recommended increasing the size of the Senedd but using the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system to elect a larger chamber. STV is ERS’ preferred system too and we regret that this hasn’t been chosen by the Welsh Government. But in the absence of STV we would hope that the Welsh Government can look again at making lists more flexible or open, thereby giving voters their say on their preferred candidates. 

Long-awaited reforms for the Senedd

Whilst we are critical of the voting system chosen there is no denying that this legislation will bring long awaited, necessary reforms to the Senedd. 

In his legislative statement in June the First Minister Mark Drakeford also set out a number of other laws due to be introduced that will reform Welsh democracy, including a bill to increase the representation of women in the Senedd via gender quotas. Another bill to improve electoral administration will introduce important initiatives to increase the number of people registered to vote in Wales. It is also great to see the commitment to establishing an Electoral Management Board for Wales, which we hope will learn from the Scottish model.

Whilst we await these further pieces of legislation it is clear that this is a real moment of reform and change for our democracy. The next Senedd elections in 2026 will look very different to those in recent years and finally deliver a parliament fit for the nation of Wales.

Welsh Labour members voted overwhelmingly on Saturday to back a new package of reforms to modernise the Senedd. This is the culmination of nearly 20 years of discussions around reforming the Welsh Parliament, particularly in terms of its size.

Saturday’s vote feels to many who have followed the debate like clearing that final hurdle at the end of a long race. Yet, in reality, we may only just be warming up as we move on to a complex legislative stage.

The reforms that Welsh Labour backed have come as the result of both a Labour/Plaid deal and a cross-party Senedd Special Purpose committee. The proposals include increasing the size of the Senedd to 96 members from the current 60, a change to a ‘closed list’ proportional representation voting system, and gender quotas.

Creating the full-time parliament Wales deserves

These are much-needed reforms for a Senedd that has seen its responsibilities and powers grow beyond recognition since it was first created as a small National Assembly. As such, the size of the Senedd has been an issue for nearly two decades now – almost as long as the Senedd has been in existence. The current chamber of 60 members leaves just over 40 (those who are not part of the government or party leaders) to deliver the vital role of scrutiny. This has effectively led to a ‘part-time parliament’ in Wales, with Senedd committees only being held every other week this term.

A 96-member Senedd will finally deliver a fully functioning parliament and put us in line with other national parliaments such as Northern Ireland, which has 90 members in its assembly.

Diverse perspectives make for better legislation

The measures for gender quotas are also a welcome step, as they will help ensure women are always properly represented at a national level. These will be the first of their kind in the UK and embed measures that will aim to deliver a 50:50 parliament, mirroring the result in 2003 when Wales became the first legislature to reach gender parity.

We would also hope that these quotas can allow measures to improve the representation of other communities, particularly increasing the representation of people from a black or ethnic minority background.

While we at ERS Cymru would have preferred a different electoral system, the Single Transferable Vote, to be chosen, the closed list system will move Senedd elections away from the ‘winner takes all’ First Past the Post system, which often produces skewed results in parliaments. This new system will mean the will of the electorate is more accurately reflected in Cardiff Bay and give every person in Wales six representatives, increasing the likelihood that people will have someone representing them that they voted for.

What happens next for Senedd reform

Following Saturday, this package of reforms has now been backed by over two-thirds of the Senedd, 76% of Welsh Labour delegates and will hopefully soon be approved by the Plaid Cymru National Executive Committee. That will bring a number of ducks in a row to enable legislation to be developed that will deliver these reforms in time for the 2026 election.

This will be a challenge for Welsh Government lawyers, who will have to work on a very complex bill. As well as the measures I’ve outlined above, the legislation will also have to consider boundary changes, the intricacies of a new system and how to ensure the bill will be able to be delivered within the competency of the Senedd.

On that latter point, some are already suggesting that certain elements of the legislation, particularly the gender quotas, wouldn’t be at the discretion of the Senedd. But those suggestions have largely come from one place – a Welsh conservative party who opposes them out of principle. On Sunday Politics this week, the Chair of the Special Purpose Committee, Huw Irranca Davies MS, pushed back on these challenges admitting that solving them would be “finely balanced”, but adding he is confident it was possible. It is likely though that this won’t be the last word on this and presents a warning to those drafting legislation to ensure it is as robust as possible.

One of the biggest challenges for those drafting and voting on the legislation will be around time with these changes due to be delivered for the 2026 Senedd election. That may seem like a long time away but it gives lawyers only around a year to write a bill and the Senedd a truncated time to debate, scrutinise and vote to pass legislation. Then comes the difficulty of implementing the changes and seeing through a boundary review due to come in after the next election.

It may feel like we’ve come a long way on Senedd reform but there’s still a lot to do before we’ll finally see our parliament working properly for the people of Wales. Those with the responsibility to deliver these changes must grasp the nettle and ensure it does meet that 2026 deadline.

This article originally appeared in the Western Mail.

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ERS Cymru has long championed these important reforms, regularly meeting with politicians, submitting evidence to committees and appearing in the press to make the case for change. You can support our work by joining the ERS.

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With just 60 elected members, Wales’ Parliament has long been under-resourced. But that problem has grown as Wales acquired more responsibilities – without the representatives needed to properly scrutinise legislation.

For as long as there has been a parliament in Wales debate has raged on its size. Those of us who have campaigned on this issue know just how difficult it has been to find consensus. It’s a topic that has often been a difficult one for Welsh Labour in particular.

That’s why it is great news that Welsh Labour’s 2022 conference unanimously backed a motion in favour of increasing the size of the Senedd to between 80 to 100 members. This vote is a huge step forward for the campaign for Senedd reform in Wales. The unanimous support of Welsh Labour’s plans from members, representatives and trade unionists give party leaders a strong mandate to deliver on these important reforms.

Expanding the Senedd from its current 60 members was included as part of the Plaid Cymru cooperation agreement with the Welsh Government to increase the number of members in the Senedd from 60 to between 80 and 100, with a voting system “at least as proportional” as the current one alongside proposals to enshrine gender quotas into law.

And these reforms are desperately needed. Nearly 25 years after the narrow victory for the campaign for devolution in Wales the Senedd has changed beyond recognition, going from a small Assembly with no government functions and limited powers to a fully fledged Welsh Parliament with law making and tax raising powers.

The Senedd has spent the last two years scrutinising major legislation and budgets in the midst of a pandemic and has had just over 40 people to do so, when government ministers, party leaders and Senedd Commission representatives are removed.

But this isn’t just about more politicians, these reforms are vital for delivering better public services for our country and a stronger democracy for the people of Wales. A larger Senedd, elected by a proportional system that enshrines in law gender quotas is vital for ensuring effective governance in Wales. As Professor Laura McAllister has said previously that ‘good scrutiny pays for itself’.

The unanimous backing of Welsh Labour Conference for the plans set out in the Cooperation Agreement recognises that the time is right for a parliament that can properly scrutinise decisions, for an electoral system where each vote counts and for our elected representatives to more accurately reflect the people of Wales.

It signals that the Welsh Labour party had indeed moved with the party leadership on this issue.

Ultimately, this vote provides the endorsement the First Minister Mark Drakeford needs to go into negotiations with Plaid Cymru on Senedd reform and come back with specific proposals on a stronger Senedd by 2026 and deliver on the plans that so many backed at this weekend’s conference.

We have a once in a generation chance to deliver a parliament that works for Wales, and thanks to last weekend’s conference this chance is greater than ever.

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With just 60 elected members, Wales’ Parliament has long been under-resourced. But that problem has grown as Wales acquired more responsibilities – without the representatives needed to properly scrutinise legislation. 

Changes to the size of the Welsh Parliament / Senedd Cymru were first mooted officially nearly 20 years ago, with the publication of the Richard Commission report in 2004. The then-Assembly had far fewer powers – but even then it recognised that Welsh voters were going under-represented, and Wales’ scrutineers were facing burnout. 

Since then, the issue has been part of a wider conversation about how to reform the Senedd, with an Expert Panel in 2017 recommending 80-90 members, elected through the Single Transferable Vote, with strong diversity measures in place. A Senedd Committee in 2020 concurred with the Expert Panel, calling for an increased capacity for the Senedd, further improving its electoral system, and boosting diversity to reflect Wales.

At the Senedd elections in 2021 three of the four parties returned to the Senedd included manifesto commitments around these changes. Since then reform seems likelier than ever. In November, Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru announced The Co-operation Agreement, an extensive three-year deal covering a huge range of policies where there were common aims or interests. This included the biggest commitment on Senedd reform to date, stating:

“Working together we will…support plans to reform the Senedd, based on 80 to 100 Members; a voting system, which is as proportional – or more – than the current one and have gender quotas in law. We will support the work of the Senedd Special Purpose Committee and introduce a Senedd reform Bill 12 to 18 months after it reports.”

That Senedd Special Purpose Committee is due to report by 31st May this year making policy instructions for the Welsh Government to legislate. 

A strong case for change

There are so many reasons that reform is desperately needed. The size of the Senedd has been the same since its inception in 1999, but the reality is that devolution has fundamentally changed. We’ve got additional powers now, including those around legislation and taxation. With just 60 members, when you take out government ministers, party leaders and the Llywydd (Presiding Officer), you’re left with just over 40 people to juggle all the scrutiny that’s required.

So this is about investing in scrutiny that will ensure that the Senedd better delivers for people across Wales. The excellent Professor Laura McAllister has said previously that ‘good scrutiny pays for itself’. Indeed, back in 2020 Wales’ Auditor General said “Good scrutiny means good legislation, and good legislation pays for itself…a 0.17% annual saving, or improvement in value, in Welsh Government spending (£17.5bn), would pay for 30 extra members.” A stronger Senedd would mean our public services, such as our hospitals, can work more effectively. 

We cannot continue with a Senedd that doesn’t have the capacity to tackle the challenges we face. To change this we need political parties to work together and deliver on their commitments to reform the Senedd by the next elections in 2026.

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This week saw a historic moment in Wales. Standing on the steps of the Senedd on Monday afternoon, Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford and Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price announced The Co-operation Agreement, setting out around 50 policy areas where the two parties will work together.

Set to last three years, the agreement is far-reaching, spanning policies on free school meals, energy and second homeownership. In the midst of the deal is also a commitment on Senedd reform, an area ERS Cymru has been campaigning on for nearly a decade. 

The agreement commits the parties to work together to reform the Senedd, delivering a larger chamber of 80 to 100 members; a voting system, which is as proportional – or more – than the current one and legislating for gender quotas. 

This is a huge victory for the long-standing campaign to increase the size and the diversity of the Senedd. The Senedd’s size has been a talking point since it was established in 1999 and the need for more members has increased ever since.

ERS Cymru first highlighted the impact of the then Assembly’s lack of capacity back in 2014, recommending a chamber of 100 members. An earlier commission had called for it to increase to 80 and this was then followed by the Expert Panel on Assembly Reform in 2017, which recommended between 80 and 90. All significant increases to the current 60 person chamber.

Wales has been a leader on diversity in politics with the Senedd being the first legislature in the world to achieve gender parity back in 2003. But this has been hugely dependent on the electoral success of the parties who have used positive action measures such as All Women Shortlists to improve representation rather than through measures of the Senedd itself. As part of the Diverse 50:50 campaign with WEN, Race Council Cymru and EYST Wales (Ethnic Youth Support Team) we’ve been working to build up support for quotas to promote gender parity and wider diversity amongst elected representatives. The commitment of the agreement to commit gender quotas into law is a seminal moment for this campaign.

Yet, the work doesn’t stop here. These measures alone will not be enough to deliver the fairer, more representative politics we need. To do that there must be agreement on the voting system used to elect a bigger and stronger parliament. Without a commitment to a system like the Single Transferable Vote (STV), we risk undermining the steps made to deliver this much-needed reform.

We have been making the case to MSs and party insiders since our 2016 Reshaping the Senedd report that STV would be the ideal system for an enlarged Senedd – improving voter choice and delivering a more proportional result. This was backed up by the Expert Panel in 2017 and then a cross-party Senedd Committee in 2020 – both of which we gave evidence to. 

But we must do more if we are to see a Senedd that truly reflects the population of Wales, exploring how the commitment to positive action can be extended to include other underrepresented groups such as black, asian and minority ethnic women, disabled people and those from the LGBT+ community. 

Despite the need for more work to be done, we should recognise yesterday’s agreement for what it was – a giant step forward for electoral reform in Wales. Constitutional upgrade and cooperation are what progressive governments do, ensuring a strong and modern democracy is the foundation on which policy is made. We have huge challenges facing us as a country – the economy, the climate crisis and the pandemic recovery all need an effective government and parliament to tackle them. These measures provide the opportunity for getting that foundation right and meeting these challenges head-on. 

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Just a few short weeks out from the Senedd elections and it’s clear that the election campaign has now hit full swing. With polls suggesting some uncertainty parties are already setting out their stalls on a number of key issues.

One of those is the size of the Senedd, which the Welsh Conservatives have this week come out against increasing.

The debate on the size of the Senedd is not new – in fact for as long as there has been a Senedd there have been questions of its capacity.

And today, over two decades since it was established, the need for more members is clearer than ever and politicians who so glibly dismiss the issue as unimportant are doing us all, and democracy in Wales, a disservice.

We have been debating the size of the Senedd since its inception in 1999. With only a small margin of support for devolution in the 1997 referendum the then Assembly was given very few powers and just 60 members.

To put this into context the Scottish Parliament has 129 Members and Stormont 90. Even Pembrokeshire County Council has the same number of members as our Welsh Parliament.

Since 1999 the role of the Senedd has rapidly increased with legislative powers, tax varying powers and more recently has taken a critical role in tackling the pandemic and yet the number of members has remained stubbornly the same.

Once you’ve taken out those who serve as government ministers, party leaders and those with official roles, such as the Llywydd/Presiding Officer you’re only left with just over 40 members to do the day-to-day scrutiny work on Senedd committees.

This might sound really technical but in reality, that is where some of the most important work takes place, its where members look at the detail of policy announcements, comb over the small print of about £16bn a year’s worth of budgets and analyse the impacts of legislation before it is signed into law.

If you look back at the last 12 months huge decisions have been made around health, the economy and so many other areas of our lives. Despite the importance of these policy areas it has often fallen to just over 40 people in the Senedd to look into the detail of these decisions.

An Expert Panel report, chaired by the always impressive Professor Laura McAllister, concluded in 2017 that the size of the Senedd should increase to somewhere between 80 and 90 members. She has since said, “…our expert panel heard no compelling argument, backed up with real, hard evidence or suggestions for further innovations in working, as to why 60 members is sufficient to properly deliver for the people of Wales – and nor have I since”.

Just last year a Senedd Committee also concluded that more members were needed after an exhaustive inquiry trying to assess if there were any other options to boost the Senedd’s capacity and went as far as to call for legislation around this early in the next term.

ERS Cymru has long been campaigning for this change alongside a change in the voting system and more mechanisms in place to support diversity in our politics. Addressing the size of our Senedd is one of the key asks of parties in our recently published A Manifesto for Democracy.

This debate around the size of the Senedd now comes at a time when Welsh representation is being slashed elsewhere.

Plans are afoot to cut the number of MPs before the next UK General Election, which would see Wales lose around eight members of Parliament.

If you combine the cost of that cut with the loss of the four MEPs we used to have it makes around £12.6m per year. Last August the Llywydd set out figures projecting the cost of 30 additional Members of the Senedd would be around £12m per year.

But it’s not just about the money. It’s about representation. Like them or not politicians’ jobs are to represent us, the people living in Wales.

Their jobs are to make crucial decisions about our local hospitals, the industries we work in, the schools our children go to. Stopping our parliament from reaching its potential and holding back our politicians from being able to do their jobs to the best of their ability is like cutting off our own nose to spite our face.

Often political parties and politicians try to pretend there are simple answers to really complex problems, that if you don’t spend money on one issue that it automatically goes to funding our NHS or creating more nurses or doctors.

The reality is that we face a difficult time and we need our politicians to front up, stop pretending things are easy and commit to making tough choices that need to happen.

This election we need parties to commit to revolutionising democracy in Wales – not to turn the clocks back.

This article originally appeared on Wales Online

With just 60 elected members, Wales’ Parliament has long been under-resourced. But that problem has grown as Wales acquired more responsibilities – without the representatives needed to properly scrutinise legislation. 

Changes to the size of the Welsh Parliament / Senedd Cymru were first mooted officially over 15 years ago, with the publication of the Richard Commission report in 2004. The then-Assembly had far fewer powers – but even then it recognised that Welsh voters were going under-represented, and Wales’ scrutineers were facing burnout. 

Since then, the issue has been part of a wider conversation about how to reform the Senedd, with an Expert Panel in 2017 recommending 80-90 members, elected through the Single Transferable Vote, with strong diversity measures in place.

This Thursday saw the publication of the latest report looking at the future of the Senedd and the need for reform, with the Committee on Senedd Reform publishing their final report. Just as the Expert Panel concluded 3 years ago, the Committee calls for strengthening the capacity of the Senedd, further improving its electoral system, and boosting diversity to reflect Wales.

Write to your MS and tell them you support the Committee on Senedd Reform