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.

Do you agree? Join the ERS to support our work in Wales and Westminster

Support the work of the ERS

UPDATE: On Wednesday 21st January, the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill became law after receiving Royal Assent. Now the campaign begins to ensure councils in Wales sign up to a fairer voting system, and that newly-enfranchised young people know their rights to vote.

In England, the ERS is calling for all parties to commit to ditching First Past the Post, as voters look set to head to the polls in May. Sign up to the campaign here.

Find out what the Local Government and Elections Act means for Wales below….

Imagine just for a second that local government could be reformed to ensure people are more engaged, their votes matter and their voices are properly heard. That rather than putting up barriers to participating in democracy, those barriers were stripped away.

That is what has happened tonight in Wales as the Welsh Parliament/Senedd voted 39-16 to pass the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill, a significant piece of legislation which transforms local elections and revolutionises the way councils operate. 

The bill includes several ways to improve and expand Welsh democracy, changes that ERS Cymru have been fighting hard to achieve.

The Single Transferable Vote comes to Wales

This legislation is the first in Wales to introduce the Single Transferable Vote (STV) into Welsh elections. For the first time councils will have the chance to move to a system that gives voters more choice, ensures their vote counts and delivers greater representation. A huge victory for campaigners of electoral reform in Wales. Because of this Bill individual councils will now get to vote on whether to move from the ineffective First Past the Post System to STV, potentially ending years of uncontested seats and disproportionate results. Across the border in England, all local authorities will remain stuck with a system that doesn’t effectively deliver for voters.

Votes for 16 and 17 year olds in local elections

The bill will also open up our democracy to those previously shut out, extending the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds and to all foreign citizens legally resident in Wales. The franchise, which was previously extended for next year’s Senedd elections, will mean a whole new generation of voters will now have a say on the future of their local area. It leaves England and Northern Ireland as the only two nations in the United Kingdom that systematically denies the right to young people to have their say on critical issues which affect their day to day lives.

Automatic Voter Registration

The bill also paves the way for an overhaul of our outdated and ineffective system of voter registration. The bill could lead to a new system where registration officers can identify people missing from the register and let them know they’ll be added. This will go a long way in addressing the problems caused by the lack of integration between council services and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to vote come election day.

Changes will now also come into effect for the 2022 elections that put the emphasis on councils to better engage people living in their community. Councils will soon be required to publish strategies boosting participation in their area as well as develop and run petitions schemes allowing constituents to call for change on an issue affecting them.

The bill will also go some way to addressing issues with diversity. At the last elections in 2017 just 28% of those elected as councillors were women. While further work will need to be done here measures are being put in place to allow for job sharing in cabinet roles and greater training around diversity for members.

A victory for voters

All of this will see fundamental changes to the way local democracy works in Wales. We’ve been calling for these changes for a long time and now, thanks to this legislation, we’ve got them. Over the next few years we should see local authorities being brought into the modern era and making voters their priority and see our local democracy begin to thrive.

All of this change in Wales leaves us to ask ‘Why can’t England do the same?’ 

Urgent reform is required to deliver a fairer and more representative local government in England. With Scotland already leading the way on proportional representation and now Wales joining the cause for fairer votes surely England must be next. Eyes should be on Westminster to follow suit with a string of reforms to our local democracy and make sure voters all across the UK are fairly represented.

We think every councillor across the UK should be elected with STV, if you agree, sign our petition today.

Sign our petition today

The Senedd looks very different to when it was first conceived in 1999. Ongoing devolution has meant more powers are held in Cardiff Bay – including primary law-making powers and tax-varying powers that create a much more complex budget – yet we still operate with the same number of members despite this increasing workload.

The purpose of a Parliament is to scrutinise and hold a government to account, and the power of a Welsh government is almost unrecognisable from the first years of devolution. But who holds that government to account? Who scrutinises legislation that can cover anything from the NHS right through to schools or even landfills?

The answer is that just over 40 people do that job.

Despite the political landscape changing fundamentally over the last two decades, the Senedd has remained at a total of 60 members. If you exclude members of the government, party leaders, and the Llywydd and her deputy, that leaves 41 backbenchers to do the day to day job of scrutinising policy changes that affect over 3 million people in Wales.

By any measure this isn’t sufficient. Scotland has 129 MSPs sitting in Holyrood, while Stormont is back up and running with 90 MLAs.

In the Senedd 17 of the 41 Members who sit on Committees, a vital scrutiny function of any parliament, sit on three or more.

In 2017, an Expert Panel, chaired by Professor Laura McAllister, concluded that the Senedd needs around 80-90 members to do its job properly.

Alongside an increase in Members, the Expert Panel also discussed how the new larger Senedd should be elected, opting for a preferred option of a Single Transferable Vote electoral system (STV) with an integrated gender quota.

We have long been supportive of STV as a voting system for the Senedd. Firstly, it delivers a much higher level of proportionality but also ensures an equal mandate for all members. The current Additional Member System (AMS) delivers two types of members, which has led to some tension in recent years. Finally, STV’s ability to include a gender quota to ensure equal representation in the Senedd is a vital step to promote and safeguard diversity in an institution that has previously been a world leader in this area.

Despite these excellent recommendations, nearly three years on very little has changed. The report of the Expert Panel made a number of important recommendations to strengthen the Senedd but to date only the recommendation to extend the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds has been enacted. We have major concerns about the cherry-picking nature of how the report’s recommendations have been delivered so far.

The Committee on Senedd Reform’s September 2020 report echoed many of the Expert Panel’s recommendations, confirming that we still have a long way to go to ensure the Welsh Parliament delivers for the people of Wales.

We believe it is vital that the recommendation to increase the capacity of the Senedd, increasing its membership to up to 90 members, alongside the introduction of an STV voting system with an integrated gender quota, is implemented imminently.

Manifesto ask 1: Full implementation of the Expert Panel recommendations to increase the number of Members of the Senedd to around 90, alongside the implementation of the Single Transferable Vote (STV) with an integrated gender quota. This should happen early in the term of the next Senedd

Read the full report

In just over six short months voters in Wales will head to the polls for the Senedd elections. This election will be different in many ways, with many alternative measures expected to be in place as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. 

It will also be different in terms of the people who vote. Since the last election the franchise has been extended to 16 and 17 year olds, something we’ve long been campaigning for. All qualifying foreign citizens have also been given the right to vote in next year’s election. 

Yet, for all these differences some things remain the same. Despite now having more powers than ever before with ability to legislate and vary tax t Senedd will still have just the 60 seats it began with in 1999. It also will be another election which uses the Additional Member System, relying heavily on a disproportionate First Past the Post element and topping up with list seats, which have been heavily criticised over the past four and a half years as Members have repeatedly switched between parties. 

We also have no guarantees that the members returned after the election will be more diverse than at present. The Senedd has never had a BAME woman elected and for all of our calls to address this, plus a myriad of other organisations saying the same thing, there is no certainty that this will change come May 2021. 

The picture is scarcely better for local government. With low turnouts, a disproportionate voting system and a clear lack of diversity, councils are ripe for reform. The current Welsh Government has however been pushing for change with the Local Government and Elections (Wales) bill. The bill, which is currently going through the Senedd, would extend the right to vote to 16 and 17 year olds in local elections, give councils the opportunity to move to a Single Transferable Vote system and makes provisions for automatic voter registration. These are all good steps and changes that we have long been campaigning for but they’re just the beginning. The truth is we need to go much further to ensure local government in Wales is fully representative of voters. 

The reality is that Wales has a democratic deficit that underpins many of the problems we see in our democracy today. Turnout for Wales only elections is historically low and our media provision is heavily limited. While media representation has perhaps improved in the last few months we still face huge challenges in ensuring that news and politics in Wales is properly reflected back to the people who live here. 

All of these areas are ripe for reform and which is why it is vital that parties use this election to commit to change. 

Manifesto for Democracy

Today we publish our Manifesto for Democracy, which outlines the changes Wales needs to ensure that our democracy is strengthened for all who live here.

In it we set out four priorities for reform we need from the next Welsh Government, and ask for radical commitments to meet these challenges in the party manifestos ahead of the 2021 elections:

1. Full implementation of the Expert Panel on Assembly Electoral Reform’s recommendations. This would increase the number of Members of the Senedd to around 90, alongside implementation of the Single Transferable Vote (STV) with an integrated gender quota. This should happen early in the term of the next Senedd. 
2. Further reform of local government to include the full rollout of STV for local elections in all authorities. Parties should also commit to decisive measures to promote diversity, such as gender quotas, collecting and publishing diversity data, and a far-reaching Access to Elected Office Fund to include support for people from a much wider set of backgrounds than current provisions. Quotas, in particular, are essential to ensure we do not continue to see low numbers of women elected in Local councils. 
3. Adoption of deliberative democracy tools into standard policy making processes. To use tools such as participatory budgeting and citizens’ assemblies regularly used to address lack of engagement in communities and to resolve particular political debates
4. A commitment to statutory political education within schools. We must tackle the democratic deficit and ensure young people leave school with much more knowledge of the political system than previous generations of school-leavers. 

Combined these reforms would revolutionise democracy in Wales. These four manifesto asks reflect a much wider voice than ERS Cymru alone, and are supported by Colleges Wales,  Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services (CWVYS), Oxfam Cymru, WEN Wales, IWA and Chwarae Teg.

Throughout the next few days we’ll be exploring each of these topics in more detail, examining the need and the potential impact of reform in each area. 

We are just over 20 years into Wales’ devolution journey and this is the first time we have powers over areas like elections. Parties must take advantage of that, commit to our roadmap for reform and together we can build a stronger democracy for Wales. 

Read A Manifesto for Democracy: The 2021 Senedd Elections

Almost since its inception, there has been discussion and debate about a larger National Assembly here in Wales. Most recently, an expert panel on Assembly reform led by Professor Laura McAllister stated simply that the Senedd didn’t have the capacity to do everything it should be doing – and the right number of members should be 80 to 90 members, rather than the current 60 members. They recommended that this increase should be delivered by 2021 alongside other recommendations about the electoral system and gender quotas. 

An expert panel on Welsh Assembly reform stated simply that the Senedd didn’t have the capacity to do everything it should be doing Click To Tweet

Yet, the process to get this reform through has been so difficult that a few weeks ago the Assembly Commission decided not to legislate on the issue. 

The decision to not legislate this term on the other areas of reform recommended by McAllister’s expert panel wasn’t necessarily a big surprise. There has been a feeling for a while that the 40 Assembly Members required to pass any legislation on this was out of reach. 

What was surprising was the response to the decision after it was announced. Assembly Members from multiple political parties, many of whom hadn’t previously been vocally supportive, were coming out and saying that they regretted the decision.  

That response left us believing this issue isn’t dead and buried just yet. While legislating by 2021 looks unlikely, there is scope to ensure that this issue is moved forward in a tangible way by then. 

That’s why last Wednesday we announced a new coalition backing a larger assembly through a simple statement:

“For a parliament fit for the 21st century we need the right number of members. I’m backing an increase in the size of the assembly, which parties should commit to in the next manifestos to be delivered by 2026.”

This statement focussed on a larger assembly deliberately, rather than including other areas of reform. While we sense support from a majority of the assembly for an increase in size, the issue remains of how that would be delivered. 

That was evident in an Assembly debate also held last Wednesday, in which there was little agreement on the system or exact number that would be introduced as part of these reforms.

This led to some very understandable frustration from Plaid Cymru AMs that the reforms now look unlikely to happen by 2021. 

Plaid rightly point out that Welsh Labour’s insistence that this be put to the public in manifestos, as well as a failure to agree on what electoral system they would back to deliver this, have been the main barrier to getting reforms passed. However, we are now at the point where manifestos are the most realistic route to ensure reform actually happens. 

Given this, our statement is calling for parties to commit to implementing reform by 2026. To do that, we now need parties to guarantee that this will be a central part of manifestos for the 2021 elections, with a tangible commitment to legislate on this in the very first part of the next Assembly term. 

2026 isn’t our ideal date – but it’s still better than waiting another 20 years for reform. 

Ahead of the publication of manifestos, it falls on all parties to ensure they have robust and open debate about the best way to increase the size of the assembly, particularly when it comes to electoral systems. 

The work and the recommendations of the Expert Panel report should be used as the basis to this – and their recommendation that the Single Transferable Vote would be their preferred option should be front and centre to party considerations. 

While political parties play a critical role in this, it also falls to us in civil society to keep up the pressure for reform. Over a dozen organisations and charities signed our statement last week, demonstrating wide support for a larger Assembly, outside of the Senedd itself. The statement is only the first step in a wider campaign leading up to the next election so please do get in touch if you’d like to play a part in it. 

Over a dozen organisations and charities signed our statement last week, demonstrating wide support for a larger Assembly, outside of the Senedd itself. Click To Tweet

The Assembly is coming to a crossroads. Will it continue to be strained and unable to reach its potential? Or will it grasp the nettle and commit to a series of democratic reforms that ensure its fit for the future, and for properly serving the people of Wales? 

Only time will tell, but 20 years on from the advent of devolution AMs are finally putting their heads above the parapet to back more members. Now, the devil is in the detail on how they deliver this. 

This article was originally published on the IWA

Ask your AM for a larger assembly

Devolution to Wales has meant that we do a number of things differently from other parts of the UK. From having distinct policies around tuition fees for Welsh students heading to university, to bringing forward groundbreaking legislation around organ donation and wellbeing, over the last 20 years we’ve seen real divergence from the kind of policies we see across the Severn Bridge.

Today heralded the latest development, with the Assembly Commission introducing the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Bill, which is set to extend the vote to 16 and 17 year olds in Wales for the first time. This is something we at ERS have been calling for for a long time and we’re delighted to see it finally happening.

Extending the right to vote to 16 and 17 year olds for Welsh parliamentary elections is a sensible recognition of the fact that Wales’ young people are active, informed and interested in politics – and they deserve to be heard by our political institutions. 

As we’ve seen in Scotland, where the right to vote was extended in 2015, extending the franchise has resulted in a higher turnout among 16 and 17 year olds than their 18 to 24 year old counterparts, and helped spur a revival in political engagement across the board. As we’ve seen from around the world, If you vote once, you are more likely to vote in future. So as 18 year olds who don’t vote become 50 year olds who don’t vote, 16 and 17 year olds who do vote will continue to vote as they age.

The introduction of votes at 16 in Wales creates an opportunity to reinvigorate the way we teach politics in our schools. Last year we ran Our Voices Heard, a project which spoke to nearly 200 young people about political education. That work taught us that young people are interested in politics, and that they want better information about how decisions are made and who makes them.

180 years on from the Chartist Newport Rising, this legislation is a critical step in the process of bringing new life into Welsh democracy, but it shouldn’t be the last.

An expert panel which reported at the end of 2017, chaired by Professor Laura McAllister, recommended a raft of other reforms to go alongside the extension of the right to vote. We have yet to see these other reforms progress but they are fundamental to the future success of the Senedd. Chief among these is a larger assembly – with Assembly Members representing more voters than ever, it is time for the Senedd to be properly resourced.

The introduction of this Bill today is a brilliant step forward in Wales’ devolution journey and shows how we can do things differently for the benefit of the people of Wales. Because of this legislation, around 70,000 young people will gain the right to vote at the next Assembly election, scheduled for 2021.

Whether that Assembly will be properly equipped to represent them is still to be determined – and it’s critical we don’t forget that.

Sign our petition to extend the right to vote to all 16 and 17 year olds

What was always set to be an interesting Welsh Labour conference this weekend quickly became one for the history books as Carwyn Jones used his conference speech to announce his intention to stand down as First Minister this Autumn.

It was a shock to many, with reports that barely anyone knew of his plans prior to the speech, but it was only minutes after his announcement that potential candidates for the leadership election were being pressed on whether they would stand.

At the time of writing, while there has been lots of discussion in the media and some refusals by front-runners to rule outstanding, no candidates have formally announced that they intend to run. This will be a drawn out process with the new Welsh Labour leader likely to be in place in December, leaving us with months of speculation yet on who will win the race.

Yet this leadership election should be less of a case of who runs and more of a case on how the candidates face up to some critical issues facing Wales.

Crucially, the leadership election offers a space to have a debate about how we improve the health of our democracy in Wales. I’m not just talking about the debate on how the leader is elected, which is likely to be the focus for many in the Labour party over the next few weeks and months, but how the next leader intends to resolve the disconnect between many people across Wales and what happens in Cardiff Bay every Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.

Nearly twenty years after devolution, the democratic deficit in Wales still persists. We’ve had numerous polls showing a vast number of people across Wales don’t know who runs our health or education systems, turnout at local and Assembly elections remains disappointingly low and representation in local authorities across Wales is still dominated by white, middle-aged men with very little progress on improving diversity.

This has led to a Wales where most people are not engaged in decisions that affect their future, where people feel left behind and ignored. The first year for the new Labour leader will be one disproportionately focused on Brexit, and it is vital that any new First Minister properly engages people across Wales in this process. With Welsh democracy in the state it is in, that presents a real challenge.

To improve democracy the new leader must be prepared to engage properly with reform. I don’t think it’s unfair to say that Welsh Labour have been slightly reticent on reform to date. Take for example current efforts to change the way the National Assembly for Wales works and is elected.

An expert panel reported in December calling for votes at 16 to be introduced, a larger Assembly and a different voting system. All of these areas could be significant in creating an Assembly that’s working better for the people of Wales, yet the Labour party have so far only agreed to consult its members on the issue. Yes, it’s always a hard case to make to increase the number of politicians in any institution but it is desperately needed in Wales. What’s missing at present is any real leadership on this issue.

The next First Minister must be able to articulate the benefits of a better functioning Assembly for all citizens and begin to address the challenges facing Welsh democracy.

This is an opportunity for Wales to lead on democratic reform, to engage its citizens and give them a greater voice in the running of the country.

We need someone that can lead Welsh Government to engage in more meaningful ways with a wide range of communities on critical policy changes that will affect people’s lives, someone who can take radical action on politics’ failure to properly represent the diversity of people across this country, and someone who can make politically difficult decisions on democratic reform.

By addressing some of the uncomfortable truths around the health of our democracy, the next Welsh Labour Leader will be in a much stronger position to lead Wales to its true potential.

This article was originally published in the Western Mail on April 24, 2018. 

Politics in Wales has reached a critical juncture – and this week Assembly Members (AMs) have a big decision to make.

One road would see exciting changes to the way politicians are elected, placing power back into the hands of the millions of people who are currently left feeling confused and frustrated.

But journey down the other road and a golden opportunity will have been missed.

The decision will be made in the Senedd tomorrow (Wednesday) when AMs will vote on whether to consult the public on the findings of an Expert Panel on Electoral Reform.

This panel – which worked independently from the Assembly – came up with several recommendations which could, if implemented, be a game-changer for democracy.

Firstly, it is proposed that 16 and 17 years olds are given the vote in Assembly elections. Votes at 16 is a policy which has attracted support rapidly in recent years, and for good reason.

All the evidence from the Scottish independence referendum shows 16 and 17 year olds will vote when given the chance and politicians from all parties were impressed with how they engaged with the historic vote.

With votes at 16 also set to be introduced for council election in Wales, keeping the minimum at 18 for the Assembly would create a bizarre and unhelpful constitutional imbalance.

Secondly, it is proposed that the number of AMs is expanded from 60 to between 80 and 90. This, we say, is long overdue.

As more and more powers are devolved from Westminster to the Assembly – and there will be a surge of additional powers when Brexit goes through – the workload of AMs increases too.

The ability of AMs to effectively scrutinise legislation, and for backbenchers to hold the Government to account, is being greatly diminished.

There would of course be a financial cost associated with expanding membership but this could be dwarfed by savings achieved in the long-term as a result of improved scrutiny. Wales currently has four MEPs costing £1.79m each a year. Following Brexit this saving could cover the cost of 24 additional AMs.

Additional AMs would also mean a more representative Assembly and more voices promoting the interests of the Welsh people.

Additional AMs would mean a more representative Assembly and more voices promoting the interests of the Welsh people. Click To Tweet

Thirdly, and importantly, the panel recommended a change to the voting system.

Currently AMs are elected by what is termed the Additional Members System (AMS) which uses a combination of the antiquated winner-takes-all system used in General Elections, and a ‘party list’ selection.

The alternative being recommended is called Single Transferable Vote (STV.) This system, where voters rank candidates, creates a legislature which more accurately reflects the will of the people and does away with the problem of ‘safe seats.’

There are other recommendations too including a ‘gender quota’ to ensure there is a fair balance between male and female AMs, a requirement for parties to publish diversity data on their candidate selections and ideas on new ways of working including job sharing for elected representatives.

These are significant changes and so it is right that they should be properly scrutinised with the Welsh people given the chance to have their say.

That is why ERS Cymru has joined forces with Chwarae Teg, Community Housing Cymru, the Institute of Welsh Affairs, NUS Wales, Positif and Women’s Equality Network (WEN) Wales to urge AMs to approve the consultation.

This is an opportunity for Wales to lead on democratic reform, to engage its citizens and give them a greater voice in the running of the country.

The alternative is that these proposals are kicked into the long grass and power in Wales is kept from its people for potentially years to come.

Open letter from former Welsh Assembly Members responding to the National Assembly for Wales’ Expert Panel on Electoral Reform. 

Wales needs an Assembly which has the resources to ensure that the financial, policy and legislative decisions taken by Welsh Government are robust.

As former AMs, we write to support the case for increasing the number of Members who serve in our National Assembly for the sake of our communities and the people of Wales.

The recently published report by the Expert Panel on Electoral Reform made the case for more Members both urgent and compelling.  It concludes that because of its current size, “it is only a matter of time before the Assembly is unable to fulfil its responsibilities to work for and represent the people of Wales effectively”.

Our Members need more time available to them to scrutinise Ministers properly, and to deal with the challenges and opportunities they face in this changing constitutional and political environment.

The need for more Members was first highlighted with the publication of the Richard Commission report in 2004.  Since then, over the last 13 years, our Assembly has become a parliament with greater areas of responsibility, including law-making and tax-varying powers.

Currently, most Members are expected to sit on so many committees that their time and ability to pursue matters with the depth and intensity required, is severely restricted.

Other avenues to increase capacity have not only been explored but have also been implemented – with the hours, the days and the weeks Assembly Members sit in session all extended.

When comparing the size of our National Assembly with other institutions in the UK and abroad, it is clear that our institution is unusually small, and that the people of Wales are far less well represented per head of population compared with equivalent legislatures across the world.  In fact, our national parliament has fewer elected representatives than many local authorities in Wales.

In Wales, we need an effective, dynamic and strong institution which delivers for our communities, and we cannot afford too much delay before addressing this matter.

We understand and appreciate the public’s reluctance to see an increase in the number of politicians. We believe however that the overwhelming case for an increase in the numbers of AMs should overcome any such reluctance when explained clearly and honestly

We therefore call on the National Assembly to consult widely with the people of Wales to explain why an increase to the size of the institution is necessary, and then to legislate to create a parliament that delivers effectively for the whole nation.

Edwina Hart
Former Labour AM for Gower and former Minister for Business, Enterprise and Technology and former Health Minister

Leighton Andrews
Former Labour AM for the Rhondda and former Minister for Education

Dame Rosemary Butler
Former Labour AM for Newport West and former Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales

Andrew Davies
Former Labour AM for Swansea West, former Minister for Enterprise, and former Minister for Finance and Public Service Delivery

Jonathan Morgan
Former Conservative AM for Cardiff North and former Chair of the Assembly’s Health, Wellbeing and Local Government Committee

Lisa Francis

Former Conservative AM for Mid and West Wales and 2007 Dods Assembly Woman of the Year Award winner

William Graham
Former Conservative AM for South Wales East and former Chair of the Welsh Conservative Group in the National Assembly

Ieuan Wyn Jones
Former Plaid Cymru AM for Ynys Môn, former Plaid Cymru leader and former Deputy First Minister

The Right Honourable Lord Dafydd Wigley,
Former Plaid Cymru AM and MP for Caernarfon and former Leader of Plaid Cymru

Jocelyn Davies
Former Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales East and former Minister for Housing and Regeneration

Baroness Jenny Randerson
Former Liberal Democrat AM for Cardiff Central, former Minister for Culture, Welsh Language and Sport and former Minister of State for Wales

Aled Roberts
Former Liberal Democrat AM for North Wales and former Leader of Wrexham County Borough Council

In 20 years of its existence – through the growth in the Assembly’s responsibilities to the expansion of the Welsh Government and its powers, one thing has changed very little: the Senedd’s capacity to scrutinise, debate and hold Ministers to account. And it’s starting to feel the strain. 

This week, the Expert Panel on Assembly Reform – set up to assess how the Assembly needs to be changed and modernised amid the great changes we see today – released its final report.

The recommendations, if implemented, could be a game-changer for Welsh democracy.

They are calling for a more proportional voting system – the ERS’ preferred system of the Single Transferable Vote. Switching to the system used for Scottish local elections would give voters a stronger say over candidates, and would ensure seats always match votes in a more proportional Assembly.

The panel are also calling for votes at 16 – something Scotland introduced for all elections (except Westminster) last year – as well as improvements to ensure greater a better gender balance in politics. When it comes to votes at 16, we know that in Scotland, 16 and 17 year olds turn out in greater numbers than 18 to 24 year olds. For Wales, this could revitalise political engagement.

And the report proposes an extra 20-30 Assembly Members – which could be paid for by no longer having MEPs in Brussels.

MEPs currently cost £1.79 million each per year. Since each AM represents a fraction of that cost, Welsh citizens can have more bang for our buck in a stronger, more effective Senedd.

At the moment, there are already signs that legislation and scrutiny here in Wales are taking a hit as a result of being under-resourced.

But an increase in capacity would take Wales’ Senedd up to the size of Northern Ireland’s Stormont – a legislature which serves just over a million people compared to Wales’ three million.

And it could reap significant dividends to the taxpayer, by improving legislation, policy and decision-making.

This report is a key moment in the Assembly’s history, and the proposals will be vital in securing it’s the success of the Senedd in the future.

Votes at 16, a stronger, more effective assembly, and a more responsive voting system through the Single Transferrable Vote are all essential in revitalising Welsh democracy.

The case for change is clear: with new powers after Brexit and further devolution – but no extra resources to deal with them – the Assembly is facing a capacity time bomb. More powers means we need the Members to be able to scrutinise the big decisions that will affect our lives.

Now comes the tricky part. Parties in the Assembly must now take on board these recommendations and, with voters at the core, chart the next steps forward. It is vital that this report does not sit and gather dust.

Parties have to take action to ensure that these changes can be introduced for the next Assembly election, scheduled for 2021.

That means starting with energy in the new year so that Wales isn’t left short when powers return from Europe.

This is about creating a stronger Senedd – one that is fit to face the challenges that the next few years will bring.

It’s an exciting opportunity – now let’s embrace it.

Read the full report here