6. Debate on a Member's Legislative Proposal

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:06 pm on 6 December 2017.

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Photo of David Melding David Melding Conservative 4:06, 6 December 2017

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I thank everyone for taking part and raising such thoughtful questions and really getting involved in this debate? Can I start with Jenny? You actually talked about the NHS requiring prudent healthcare and patients also being responsible enough to look after themselves as far as possible. And, do you know, I think that's a general model for what we need to do with democracy. Democracy cannot flourish if there isn't active citizen participation. I suppose what I'm saying is there's not enough at the moment for it fully to flourish in the twenty-first century. It's not on its knees, but we need, really, to have the sort of ambition that our ancestors had when they were making these extraordinary changes in the nineteenth century.

The difficulty on voter registration does concern me deeply. I think we need to have the highest standards of scrutiny of any system for registration, and, if there are problems with the current arrangements, I think they need to be investigated fully. We need a system that is secure, but, as soon as we can establish that a person is a citizen and has a right to vote, there should be the minimum fuss then about registering them, and there should be many methods to do that. And voting over the weekend and at local supermarkets—all these things may be possible.

Suzy said that much of what I talked about would be an alternative to referendums. I don't ban referendums altogether from this model, but I do agree that what we want is to get people to deliberate. What are the challenges? How do you trade them and prioritise? This is very important. I think, in terms of citizen service, we are probably going to see the need for a radical reform, perhaps even something along the lines of universal income, with more work-sharing also in the future. One thing we could do in that model is to emphasise the obligation we all have for citizen service. That might be a way of opening up some of these issues.

Gareth talked about the workability. Well, you know, it is used in the legal system. It's absolutely at the heart. Clearly, people would have to be supported. Our own staff would be involved in that, the research facilities, for instance, the clerking teams—it would be part of the model. Would people be interested? Well, I think, if you look around the world where it's succeeded, and the Minister made reference to this, in Iceland, in Ireland, it's been transformative in getting to discuss some of the most basic questions. And look at the new democracies that have used this in a whole host of methods, including truth commissions—they've really got to the heart of some of these things by using a citizen-based approach.

So, I'm very optimistic. The Minister said she's open to these ideas and I think that was reflected in her contribution. We need to close the gap between citizens and politicians. There are still essential things that institutions need to do and full-time politicians need to do, but we can enhance the digital possibilities and see a real chance for a new form of democracy, participative democracy, that is conducted on a much fuller and equal basis. Thank you.