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

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:09 pm on 26 June 2019.

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Photo of Caroline Jones Caroline Jones UKIP 5:09, 26 June 2019

I'm moving on, yes. So, we must show the electorate that we are here to carry out their wishes, that they are our masters and not the other way around. And we have to act like grown-ups, as I've just said. The hate and vitriol that exists far too often in political discourse serves no purpose other than to further disillusionment in politics.

If politicians can't act like responsible, reasonable adults and treat each other with respect, how can we ever expect the electorate to support us or even encourage them to become politicians themselves? So, it's little wonder that people are turned off by politics and politicians. However, today, we saw members of the Youth Parliament engaging positively on many political issues and talking to us about their future work. So, this was a positive step in encouraging young people into politics. The Chair has mentioned job sharing, which obviously, again, is a positive step to be looked into more.

At the last Assembly election, fewer than half the people of Wales bothered to vote; in some seats, just over a third of eligible voters actually cast their ballot. And last year we celebrated the centenary of universal suffrage, but what would Emmeline Pankhurst think about the levels of disengagement we are seeing today?

We need to make politics more inclusive, and in order to do that, we have to make it more respectable and respected. And poverty in our communities is, again, a barrier and often enhances inequality. So, the answer to more women in politics is to make politics more attractive to women, and the same can be said for all other under-represented groups. Online bullying is an obstacle to encouraging women into politics, and we must ensure that people have the confidence to deal with this positively. So, we need to make it more appealing for people to become councillors, AMs or MPs, and only then can we truly achieve diversity in politics.