My group strongly objects to these proposals as we feel they are anti-democratic. The upshot of these proposals will deny independent Members the opportunity to work together on common issues, deny independent Members the ability to feed into the workings of this institution, and deny independent Members the same opportunities as those in established political parties, the very political parties that we have rejected and, increasingly, so have the Welsh public. 

Independent Members need more support, not less, as they do not have the benefit of a party machine behind them. And I've heard the argument that independents cannot form a group because they do not share the same political beliefs, the same ideals, and that is a fallacy. We all share the strongest belief that the people who elect us are the most important; not party leaders or big donors—the public. So, we all have a common goal to hold the party in charge to account.

That is why we are seeing more and more independents in office, and why the traditional parties combined represent just a third of the electorate in this Senedd. We will see more and more independent Members in future, and I therefore call on Members to reject these proposals in the interests of fairness and democracy. Diolch.