7. Debate on the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee Report: Diversity in Local Government

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:20 pm on 26 June 2019.

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Photo of John Griffiths John Griffiths Labour 5:20, 26 June 2019

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. And may I thank all Members for taking part in the debate? It's good to see, I think, that there's quite a strong sense of consensus in terms of where we are and where we need to go. As was said, the Assembly here, actually, is a pretty good example of how progress can be made and has been made. Although, as we know, there is further work for us to do as well. But, nonetheless, we've got a reasonably good story to tell, which I think puts us in quite a strong position when making recommendations and advising others.

I, like Huw, plead guilty to being in the male, white and around 60 years of age demographic. [Laughter.] There's not much we can do about that, but we can certainly work towards greater diversity in general. What Huw said about Paul Flynn I think is very true—that Paul was very strong in arguing for the octogenarian demographic and greater representation for that age group at all levels of politics, but, certainly, we want to see as much diversity as possible at all levels of government in Wales, and we will work towards that, as a committee, and work with the Government here and local authorities in Wales.

I think Jenny Rathbone made a powerful point in terms of the Cardiff mayor being from an ethnic minority and being on that international platform in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition—how powerful role models can be, and we really shouldn't underestimate that, and the more such role models we have, the better.

It was an interesting point that Leanne raised, I think, about proportional representation and how women tend to do better under those systems. We're not on the verge of any great change in electoral systems in Wales, but it is instructive to look at how particular systems can help or hinder that greater diversity that we want to see. It was also useful, I think, for Leanne to talk about austerity, because we do need to understand the times that we live in and what that means for these efforts to bring about greater diversity, and trying to manage reducing budgets and all that brings isn't a very attractive proposition for any of us. Under-represented groups tend to be struggling with austerity to a greater extent than others and that doesn't help either.

In terms of the politics of the time, I think what Caroline Jones said was very true in terms of, if we want people to engage with politics, the fact that politics is in the lowest level of public esteem ever is not helpful. Brexit and the referendum has been absolutely poisonous to this, in my view, because the referendum split the population down the middle, political parties are split, and UK Government and Westminster are in a state of disarray and chaos—at a standstill. None of that is a very attractive advert for getting involved in politics, is it?