Conduct of Senedd Members ‘at a high standard’ but social media use a cause for concern – Standards Commissioner

Emily Price

The conduct of Senedd Members “remains at a high standard” but inappropriate comments on social media remain a cause for concern, the Standards Commissioner has concluded.

Douglas Bain’s annual report published on Monday (July 14) revealed that the number of complaints against MSs decreased from 190 in 2023-24 to 136 in 2024-25 – a drop of 33.

Of the complaints the Commissioner received between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, 44 were about conduct on social media whilst 15 were about the standard of service provided by Members.

22 were about conduct in plenary or ministerial conduct and 12 were about failure to notify a change to registered interests within the permitted four-week period.

The remaining complaints were about a wide range of matters including Welsh Government policy and other matters not within the Commissioner’s remit.

Social media

Bain is an independent person appointed by the Senedd tasked with investigating admissible complaints about the conduct of MSs.

He then refers his findings to the Senedd Standards of Conduct Committee which recommends sanctions for breaches of the Code of Conduct.

Bain’s latest report concluded that there was no significant change in the percentage of complaints that were inadmissible and so were not investigated  – 82% compared with 84% in 2023-24.

The main reason for inadmissibility was that the conduct complained of, even if proved, would not have been a breach of any of the rules of conduct.

One of the complaints was dealt with by Melissa McCullough – the Northern Ireland Assembly Commissioner for Standards and the Pan-Island Commissioner for Standards, as an Acting Commissioner.

This was because Bain had shortly beforehand dealt with a complaint by the same complainant against the same Member.

The Commissioner said he was concerned that because of his decision in that complaint it might be perceived that he would be biased in dealing with the new complaint.

To avoid that risk Bain recused myself from dealing with it and Melissa McCullough was appointed instead.

‘Concern’

Douglas Bain said: “I am satisfied that the conduct of Members of the Senedd remains at a high standard and compares very favourably with their counterparts at Westminster, Edinburgh and Belfast.

“However, alleged inappropriate comments by Members on social media continues to be a cause for concern.

“I have recommended that the Senedd Commission consider provision of appropriate training in its use to Members including the many new Members likely after the 2026 elections.”

Among the MSs that received sanctions last year was former Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies.

In January he was told off for failing to declare an interest as a farmer while asking questions about inheritance tax for farms in the Senedd.

In October he was found to have broken Senedd rules by incorrectly describing the 20mph default speed limit as a blanket policy.

He was later accused of shrugging off the complaint when he didn’t show up in the Chamber to respond to the official censure.

‘Blatant lie’

In a separate report in October, he was also found to have breached the Code of Conduct when he tweeted “a blatant lie” that was “misleading and dangerous”.

Mr Davies had shared a post from the Guido Fawkes website which claimed a Welsh Government press release had celebrated “birthing people”.

But the Standards Commissioner found that there was no such press release.

Davies’ repeated rule breaches resulted in him being warned he could face a cumulative sanction.

The former Tory leader’s colleague Natasha Asghar also received a wrist slap last year for calling Wales’ 20mph speed limit a “blanket” policy on social media.

Labour MS Mick Antoniw was also found to have breached the Senedd’s code of conduct when he published a social media post which stated that Tories were happy to see children killed.

The former Welsh Government minister later apologised and deleted the post.

Sherry glasses

The majority of complaints that were investigated by the Standards Commissioner did not result in a sanction.

Amongst those was the bizarre case of Janet Finch Saunders and her sherry glasses.

The probe was described as a “waste of tax payers money”.

An online seller had complained to the Standard’s Commissioner over an Ebay review the Tory MS had published after buying two crystal glasses.

The Aberconwy MS disputed that the items matched the seller’s description because they were not signed with a makers mark.

Bain said that although the matter may appear “trivial” there were concerns that the seller’s reputation could have been damaged.

An independent expert was brought in to inspect one of the glasses after one of the pair had been smashed.

Although no visible makers mark was found, the expert concluded that the glass was not a fake.

Bain said that although the feedback left by Finch Saunders was “factually incorrect” it was honestly given with no evidence of any deceit.

The Senedd’s Standards Committee later agreed with the commissioner that the Welsh Conservative MS had not breached the code of conduct.

Video conferencing

The cost of running the Commissioner’s office depends principally on the number and complexity of complaints received and investigations undertaken.

Although the number of complaints fell, the number that were investigated increased.

However, an increased use of video conferencing during the investigations resulted on an overall reduction of 5% in the cost of running the Commissioner’s office.

Bain assumed the office of Senedd Commissioner for Standards on 1 April 2021 following a period as Acting Standards Commissioner since November 2019 after the resignation of Sir Roderick Evans.

He was the Northern Ireland Assembly Commissioner for Standards from 2012 to 2017.