1. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the number of uncontested seats in Welsh local government elections? OAQ(5)0126(FLG)

Llywydd, diolch. I regret any uncontested seat at a democratic election. On Thursday this week, some 7 per cent of the principal authority places will be filled without a contest. The percentage in 2012 was 12 per cent.

I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his answer and congratulate the 92 councillors who have been elected unopposed, many of whom may be well known in tight-knit communities. He said 12 per cent were elected unopposed in 2012. The only figures I have are actually 8 per cent in 2012 and 2008, so I’m not sure what explains that discrepancy. I wonder, in light of the experience in Scotland, whether the Cabinet Secretary thinks the electoral system and the change they made in Scotland is a factor, and would he encourage councillors elected tomorrow to consider what system is appropriate for their council?

Well, Llywydd, I’m aware of the system in Scotland. I don’t think it’s possible to attribute directly to the system the fact that they have had contested elections there, because, of course, they have larger areas, with larger numbers of councillors as a result. Our White Paper, published in January of this year, proposes to allow a choice in the way that elections are conducted—the method of election to local authorities. That consultation has now closed, and I will hope to make a statement to the Assembly before the end of this summer term on the outcome of that consultation.

Regarding uncontested seats, all seats in Swansea East are being contested, although my feet probably wished they weren’t all being contested. This includes Conservative candidates from Maesteg, Llandeilo, Cimla and Neath, and a UKIP candidate from Ammanford. Obviously, not as good as Swansea West, where they have a Conservative candidate from London. Will the Cabinet Secretary consider bringing in legislation so that you must actually live in the council area that you are standing in?

Well, Llywydd, I think it is always preferable when candidates in local elections have an identity with that area and that they are known to local people. There are already a series of qualification tests that people have to pass, including living, or working, or having a business in the area, and it’s for returning officers to make sure that any candidates meet those qualifying criteria. But Mike Hedges makes an interesting point, and I’m quite sure it will be one that will be known to people when they come to cast their ballots on Thursday.

I think some of us may feel it’s a scandal that you stand for election in one party’s name, change to another party and then go uncontested. And some of us may also feel that, at the local level, in the case of independents who don’t stand on any manifesto, then go into cabinet and enact policies for the whole of those counties, it’s far better to stand for the colours you want to represent the people, and to stand for that, and be prepared to stand for election for that.

But the point about Scotland is well made. Since the introduction of the single transferrable vote, there has not been one uncontested local election in Scotland. And, clearly, widening the wards, allowing people to think, ‘Well, I’m not up against a councillor who’s been there for 35 years, and is a well-known farmer’, allows you to put together a collection, a coalition, of people. It gets different people elected, younger people, more women, and a greater range of people. I welcome the fact that there is a choice being proposed for STV for local councils, but wouldn’t it be better if the Welsh Government led and said that it is better for local democracy in Wales that STV is for all of Wales?

Well, Llywydd, the way in which the White Paper has been constructed is to allow a series of choices to be made by local authorities themselves—people who know their areas, and are able to design systems that fit best with their needs and circumstances. And that principle runs right through the White Paper, and I think it rightly applies to the choice of election method, as it will to other aspects.

Turning to the first point that Simon Thomas made, he will know that the White Paper also includes a proposal that anybody who stands for election who is a member of a political party must make that affiliation known to local electorates, even when they choose to stand as an independent, and I think that is right and proper for the very reasons that he outlined earlier.