4. 4. Plaid Cymru Debate: The Wales Bill and the Electoral System

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:18 pm on 29 June 2016.

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Photo of Gareth Bennett Gareth Bennett UKIP 3:18, 29 June 2016

We’ve had democracy in the UK for some time but it has evolved gradually over the years. There were two great reform Acts of the nineteenth century that considerably extended the vote and eliminated many rotten boroughs. Some Members may recall from their reading of history the example of Old Sarum in Hampshire where the only elector was said to be a cat. Well, rotten boroughs of a sort still exist here in Wales: places like Blaenau Gwent, where one party—and I won’t say who—won 81 per cent of the council seats on 55 per cent of the vote. There are other similar examples. Regardless of which party benefits, first-past-the-post is clearly a system of election that frequently creates a situation that the Labour Members like to refer to as a democratic deficit. Scrutiny and oversight of a council is clearly more difficult in a situation where one party holds a large majority of the seats. In such circumstances, the delivery of council services may suffer accordingly. Here in UKIP, we support the introduction of STV as a more democratic system. We will work with whoever else in the Chamber supports us on this issue. Thank you.