Well, clearly, there are also other reasons that would account for that as well, but certainly the introduction of proportional representation would improve that. We have seen the situation in local authorities in Scotland where, certainly, the turnout has been far higher in those elections. I believe that we need a new electoral system in order to raise people’s confidence in politics, and, according to the Government’s White Paper on local government reform, the Government has stated an intention to introduce STV in local government elections, but it is up to the individual councils to decide whether they want to implement this or not. Our long-established policy is to introduce the system of STV, but it should be mandatory in local authority elections across Wales. This could mean that local authority elections could be far more competitive, and that the constitution of authorities themselves would be more closely linked to the aspirations of the population, which would enhance the accountability of local government and, ultimately, improve public services.

So, the question is: do we want to accept the unfairness of the current process? And, as a nation, if we truly believe that every citizen is equal, then we should also believe, and ensure, that all votes are also equal. There is no good reason for not introducing STV for local government elections across Wales. There is a golden opportunity to do that now, but it needs to be done on a statutory basis for all councils. Otherwise, I don’t think it will happen. Sometimes, broader considerations in terms of fairness and the welfare of democracy are more important than the idea of leaving the decision to local politicians, and perhaps leaving it to those local politicians would mean that they would put their own welfare, and the welfare of their own parties, before the general well-being of local democracy. We need to make that positive change for the benefit of democracy in our nation. I very much hope that we will receive support for that principle in support for our amendments here this afternoon. Thank you.