Three councils. One goal: Fairer local democracy

Jessica Blair, director Electoral Reform Society Cymru

A month ago, we saw one of the most disproportionate elections in Welsh history.

The Welsh Labour party received 37% of the vote – a decrease of almost 4 percentage points compared to the 2019 general election. Yet, they gained nine seats, winning over 84% of the seats on offer.

This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Time after time we have seen the First Past the Post voting system produce unfair results which has left huge swathes of voters without representation.

The 2022 local election is another example. In councils right across Wales, voters were left without a voice, underrepresented or not represented whatsoever.

The results meant that in half of all local authorities in Wales there’s a party which won 10 percentage points more seats than their vote share, and in over a third of councils there’s a party with a majority of seats despite winning only a minority of votes.

Cardiff

Let’s use Cardiff as an example:  there, the Plaid Cymru-Green ‘Common Ground’ Coalition received 17% of the vote and yet ended up with just 2 councillors – out of 79. Or Ynys Mon, where the 19% of voters who wanted a Conservative Party councillor received no representation on the council at all.

What’s even worse is that over 100,000 voters across Wales had no say at all in who represented them at a local level because there was only one candidate on the ballot paper. In Gwynedd, a staggering 41% of seats were uncontested.

The bottom line is that the First Past the Post system is outdated, unfair and just plain wrong.

The good news

The good news is that there’s a chance for change. Unfair local elections could be a thing of the past in three county councils: Gwynedd, Ceredigion and Powys.

Following the passing of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2022 in the Senedd, councils have the power to change the voting system used at their local elections from First Past the Post to the Single Transferable Vote (STV).

These three councils voted to begin having a conversation with the public about the change by launching consultations.

The STV system, which has been used in Scotland since 2007, is much fairer than First Past the Post and eliminates many of the problems discussed above.

Under STV a voter will be able to rank candidates on their  ballot paper; putting their  favourite as number one, second favourite as number two, and so on for as many candidates as you like. This then tells the people counting to move your vote if your favourite candidate has enough votes already or stands no chance of winning.

In Scotland, this system has helped improve the correlation between votes and seats won whilst ensuring that local voices are heard, and everyone gets a say.

Make your voice heard

While getting to this point is a huge win, it’s what happens next which is the most important.

Following the consultation period, a vote will need to be held on whether to make the switch in voting systems. For this to vote to be won, two-thirds of councillors on each council must vote for it – no easy task.

Wales might be small but we are mighty when it comes to democracy. We were the first parliament in the world to achieve gender parity and have always strived to establish ourselves as a democratic stronghold within the UK.

Which is why this consultation period is so key in helping to secure this change. People in Ceredigion, Gwynedd and Powys have the chance to make their voices heard on whether they want fairer elections.

By having your say you will help persuade as many councillors as possible to vote for it and help secure a stronger local democracy for Wales.