8. Debate on the Committee for Electoral Reform Report — 'Senedd reform: The next steps'

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:02 pm on 7 October 2020.

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Photo of Mr Neil Hamilton Mr Neil Hamilton UKIP 4:02, 7 October 2020

Well, Wales has many problems at the moment, but I don't think we'll find many people in the outside world who think that the answer to any of them is more politicians, more Members of this place. The reality is that there is absolutely no demand whatsoever amongst the people who have elected us to this place to increase the size of the Senedd, and we know this just by looking at the electoral statistics for the last 20 years. There isn't a single election in which we've managed to get turnout to elect Members of the Senedd to 50 per cent. Recent opinion polls have shown a growing disaffection with this place and a growing demand to get rid of it—22 per cent or so in the last opinion poll that I saw. The idea that, as was said a moment ago, increasing the size of the Senedd would invigorate democracy is actually quite laughable and is actually an indictment of what we are at the moment—[Inaudible.]