Landmark law gives voters power to remove Members of the Senedd
The Senedd has taken a significant step to further strengthen democratic accountability by passing the Senedd Cymru (Member Accountability and Elections) Bill.
For the first time, the people of Wales will be able to remove their Member of the Senedd between elections.
The legislation includes a recall system with two clear triggers: automatic recall for any Member who receives a prison sentence of any length (including a suspended sentence); and discretionary recall where the Standards of Conduct Committee recommends removal for serious misconduct, subject to a majority vote of the whole Senedd.
The existing Senedd standards system will also be strengthened.
There will be a legal requirement for every Senedd to establish a Standards of Conduct Committee, which could include independent lay members to bring external, independent expertise to the Senedd’s standards process.
The Commissioner for Standards will gain additional powers to investigate concerns about Members’ conduct.
The legislation also tackles deliberate deception in elections, placing a legal duty on the next Welsh Government to prohibit false statements in the regulations governing Senedd elections.
Counsel General and Minister for Delivery Julie James said: “For the first time, people in Wales will have the power to remove a Member of the Senedd who has seriously broken the rules. I believe that is exactly as it should be in a healthy, accountable democracy.
“This Bill has been built on a solid foundation of cross-party work and the thorough, evidence-based recommendations of the Standards of Conduct Committee. I am grateful to Members across the chamber for their constructive engagement throughout this process.
“We have delivered on our commitment to put primary legislation in place before this Senedd ends. The Seventh Senedd will now take forward the remaining implementation work, and I am confident that Welsh democracy will be stronger for it.”
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
But we won’t have a memeber of the Senedd.
We shall each have six, from a mixture of parties.
If a member dies or resigns, he/she will be replaced by a person of the same party.
I assume the same will have to be true in the conditions described in the article.
I agree, there is deliberate deception at work in how the new system will work here, when the new system is going to result in a breaking of the connection between members and their voters. It will be replaced by increased control by political parties, mainly based in London.
Well you currently have five, four of whom are from a list.
Oh! And in the case of deliberate deception, will it apply to all the members of that party.
And how will they be replaced?
There have been a few Senedd members who have received prison sentences (some suspended) which will now ben banned from holding office. Most notable are those involved in the Welsh road sign campaign, the TV licence strikes for S4C, and anti-nukes at Faslane. Also, I wonder if Julie James (Labour) has considered Dic Penderyn, Emily Pankhurst and Oscar Wilde? It should be up to the electorate to decide these matters not the dictate of constitutional lawyers.
Hmmm… although a good idea in principle…
Not fully comfortable with this in the context of the UKGov spuriously proscribing protest groups they don’t like and prosecuting people as a terrorist for holding a placard.
That’s bad enough, but imagine if a certain Trump fanboy wins in 2029, wouldn’t put it beyond him to proscribe parties that advocate the end of the UK – then what?
so to summarise, you love the idea of politicians you don’t like being prevented from saying things you don’t like but you don’t want it working the other way around!
Where does my comment say that?
Thats not my position at all. Getting lectured on out points I haven’t made… I’m getting flashbacks of discourse on X now…
So, Reform will be getting just the one shot at the Senedd then – before the new rules prevent obligate liars from applying for seats
The problem with laws like this brought in for party political purposes is that they have a horrible tendency to backfire. There are barrowloads of untruths peddled by the Left and they will be subject to this law every bit as much as anyone else.
Deform wont be happy about this
How dare the electorate be able to hold their representatives accountable!
The power to recall a Senedd Member shouldn’t belong only to the Senedd or its committees. Instead, a public petition that hits a specific number of signatures should be enough to trigger the process, regardless of the reason. Furthermore, a system where a vacated seat is automatically filled by the next person on a party list is flawed. Whether an MS is recalled, resigns, or switches parties, a first-past-the-post by-election should be held in that super constituency to let the voters choose a replacement
Those signing the petition should be on the electoral register in the constituency/Wales.
Problem is the time taken for the Senedd to investigate someone they will be on their pension and feet up by the time they get around to it.
Or are they speeding up the process.