Ban lying and cap political donations to improve trust in Welsh politics – Adam Price
Adam Price will call for a ban on deliberate lying and setting limits on political donations to improve trust in Welsh politics.
Plaid Cymru’s former leader will set out his proposals at the party’s spring conference on Saturday (23 March).
Mr Price, who represents Carmarthen East and Dinefwr in the Senedd, has laid an amendment to the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill, which will lead to the banning of deliberate lying.
Disqualifying offence
The amendment, he says, “would make deliberate lying a disqualifying offence.” This, “will ensure that our politicians pause to think before making a statement that may be false. It will allow the public to be confident that our politicians are not taking them from granted and can be relied on to speak the truth.”
In addition to his amendment, Mr Price will say that the Senedd should “at the very least, amend the code of conduct so that a Member must not make or publish a statement that they know or ought to know is inaccurate.”
A rule change such as this, would prevent Members of the Senedd from simply repeating statements that the Senedd’s Standards Commissioner has already found to be inaccurate.
Welsh Labour
Mr Prices proposals come following a Welsh Labour leadership election that was rocked by the news of a £200,000 donation to the eventual winner of the contest, Vaughan Gething, from a businessman who had been convicted twice of environmental offences.
Mr Price will suggest that Members of the Senedd sign up to a £20,000 annual donation limit. He will also argue that any individual who wishes to make a significant donation should be subject to a ‘fit and proper persons test.’
These measures, he will argue, “would ensure that our politicians are not seen to be beholden to extraordinarily large donors.
“A ‘fit and proper persons test’ similar to the one used by the Financial Conduct Authority, would allow politicians to be confident that the donors they are dealing with are indeed ‘fit and proper people.’ This confidence would then hopefully be shared by the public, which would be offered an increased level of transparency as a result.”
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I agree with Plaid’s Adam Price. Because political parties like Labour & Conservative continually break manifesto promises & pledges, and those MPs & MSs who accept donations from billionaire racists and convicted criminals come across as arrogant and unrepented, why are we surprised that the public are apathetic and don’t trust politicians. The problem is those who lie and break the law are not sufficiently punished where you or I would be fined or spend time in prison.
Perhaps it’s because Wales has a historic reputation, justified or not, for rhetoric, that we produce so many despicable windbags and rattle cans. From Kinnock to Adam Price, Plaid’s very own Kinnock, substance gives way to self serving BS, wind and self boosterism. Price knows that lying is now the lifeblood of politics. How is his “we will DEFINITELY win a majority this time, form a majority government, then hold a referendum, then independence!”, a manifestly knowing illusion, not also a deliberate lie to boost the “troops”? Where is the objective line? Who judges exaggeration, “misspeak” sic or outright mendacity?… Read more »
“Welsh politics is now just white noise.”
Whereas British politics has always been so melodic.