Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. A stronger voice for the people of Wales. I have no doubt in my mind that anyone here is going to disagree with this sentiment, and I commend the hard work of everyone who's taken part on the committee. And I also have no doubt that your heart was in the right place. However, I do believe that the proposal within the special purpose committee report was severely flawed and could impede the very aims that it sets out to achieve.

Let me be crystal clear amongst you all today, as a woman who made history here in Wales last year, I genuinely want to see a Senedd as diverse and as inclusive as possible, and I don't think anyone can comprehend how much, and without sounding like Martin Luther King, I dream of seeing a Senedd that has more women, more people of colour, more members of the LGBTPQ community, and more disabled people sitting right here amongst us every single day. And I sincerely appreciate the Senedd's desire for inclusion and variance. However, the introduction of a gender quota, in my opinion, could result in an increasing number of women at the expense of other minority groups, who I'm sure would make an invaluable contribution to the make-up of the next Welsh Parliament. As a person of colour, I'd like to share something very important with you all today: the pursuit of gender balance should never be at the expense of genuine diversity and equality.

I am proud of the fact that I am the first woman of colour to be elected here to the Welsh Parliament, but I did not get here and stand amongst you all today due to the colour of my skin. I am humbled every day by the fact that I got here on my own merit and through equal competition with some very hard-working and capable Conservative candidates. No gender balance, no all-women shortlist, no positive discrimination. The people of Wales need to be convinced that Members of this Senedd are not here merely because they 'tick all the boxes' or fulfil some artificial quota.

There is no guarantee that such a gender quota or positive discrimination is even legal. In March this year, the Huffington Post reported that the Labour Party is dropping all-women shortlists to choose candidates for the next general election after receiving legal advice that continuing to use them for Westminster seats would be unlawful. In 2018, a group of Labour Party members began legal action over proposed changes to the party's policy on formal inclusion of self-identifying trans women on all-women shortlists. The power of the Welsh Parliament to legislate in certain areas has already been tested in the Supreme Court with three Bills in the past. Any legal challenge to this proposal could cause significant delay and mean it would not be in place for the Welsh parliamentary elections in 2026.

The proposed changes claim to strengthen the Welsh Parliament and to better represent the people of Wales. But how can this be true when it's actually being forced? The report recommends that there should be 16 Senedd constituencies, each electing six Senedd Members by a closed proportional list system. I sincerely fail to see how this delivers a strong voice and better representation. Having read many papers and having listened to countless arguments on this, I honestly find this truly mind-boggling. This new voting system severs the direct accountability of elected representatives to their voters and increases the power of political parties to impose candidates on local people.

I stand here today and dispute the claim that there is a mandate for these proposals. I'm sure I'm not the only Senedd Member whose inbox has been inundated with e-mails from constituents expressing their concern and opposition to the increase in Members here in the Welsh Parliament going forward, when the public would much rather have money spent on healthcare, roads, infrastructure and education. So, today I say to the Welsh Government: if you are so certain that these proposals will better serve the people of Wales, give them a stronger voice. If you are certain that you won't promote one aspect of diversity over others, if you truly stand in front of me and believe that the people of Wales are content see up to £100 million spent over the next five years on more politicians, then put the question to the people by way of a referendum. This is the people's Senedd, so let the people of Wales decide.