13 March 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Thank you, Minister. To be clear, I wasn’t talking directly about the census, but looking at all the targets involved with ‘Cymraeg 2050’. For example, with targets in terms of training new teachers, it’s 30 per cent, and it’s remained below that and has been…
13 March 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Thank you, Llywydd. Minister, like Sam Kurtz, I was reflecting on the fact that this may be our final scrutiny session with you in this current role, and I wanted to thank you for the constructive relationship we've had. One thing that stood out to me was the…
12 March 2024 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: Senedd Cymru (Electoral Candidate Lists) Bill
Thank you, Minister, for the statement today. It's been a long time coming, and I'm pleased to see this important Bill starting its journey through the Senedd today. It is timely that we are discussing the Bill today, following the successful completion of…
12 March 2024 , Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Trefnydd, I'd like to request a statement, please, from the Minister for Climate Change regarding the situation that arose quite suddenly yesterday in Hirwaun, regarding reinforced aerated autoclaved concrete being found to be affecting 40 Trivallis…
6 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 19: Transitional provision in the case that an extraordinary general election resulted in the 2026 ordinary general election not being held (Amendments 84, 87, 88)
Thank you, Llywydd. First of all, I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to this important debate yesterday and today. As I mentioned at the beginning of proceedings yesterday, the Bill before us today will have a genuinely transformative and powerful…
6 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 18: Power to set Senedd election campaign expenditure limits in connection with section 1 and Part 2 of the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill (Amendments 81, 82, 83, 85, 86)
Thank you, Llywydd. It is important that there is an ability to make reasonable and proportionate changes to parties' expenditure limits with regard to future Senedd elections, particularly considering that the parties will be responsible for expenditure…
6 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 17: Review of operation of Act etc. after 2026 general election (Amendments 9, 10, 19, 116, 11, 12, 49, 53, 20, 50)
[Inaudible.]
6 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 17: Review of operation of Act etc. after 2026 general election (Amendments 9, 10, 19, 116, 11, 12, 49, 53, 20, 50)
Thank you, Llywydd. I'm very pleased to follow Darren this time, because I'm going to focus my contribution on the amendment I've tabled in this group, amendment 116, which is an amendment to highlight the need to give further consideration to several matters…
6 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 16: Referendum on the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024 (Amendments 36, 37)
In the last Senedd election, over 63 per cent of the total votes cast went to parties that had committed to Senedd reform in their manifestos. In the 2011 referendum, a similar proportion voted in favour of strengthening Wales’s devolved powers, and this Bill…
6 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 16: Referendum on the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024 (Amendments 36, 37)
Why should we have to just put up with having fewer representatives, fewer people fighting for our communities, making the case for change, fewer representatives scrutinising the Government? I'm not willing to be non-ambitious for our communities; I want a…
6 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 16: Referendum on the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024 (Amendments 36, 37)
Diolch, Llywydd. I feel like I'm in a bit of parallel universe, because, for the last set of amendments, Darren was mentioning fairness and equality of representation, talking about a similar number of electors, and yet seems to be advocating against a Senedd…
6 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 15: Senedd constituency boundary reviews: electoral quota (Amendment 14)
Thank you, Llywydd. We oppose this amendment tabled by Darren Millar. It seems perfectly obvious what the result of imposing artificial quotas has been in the case of the new Westminster boundaries, with unintended consequences such as the Brecon, Radnor and…
6 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 14: Names of Senedd constituencies, and the role of the Welsh Language Commissioner in their naming (Amendments 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 99, 101, 102, 103, 104, 106, 107, 109)
Thank you, Llywydd. Certainly, the evidence demonstrated clearly in the Reform Bill Committee the need to significantly strengthen the Bill as introduced in relation to the opportunity provided by the formation of new Welsh constituencies to put the Welsh…
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 13: Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru: appointment and disqualification of members, chief executive and assistant commissioners (Amendments 5, 6, 7, 8, 70, 41, 42, 71, 43, 72, 44, 45, 46, 73, 47, 48, 74)
Thank you, Llywydd. We were pleased to see a number of recommendations in this group that deliver upon the spirit if not the exact letter of the relevant amendments made by the Reform Bill Committee. A number of Darren Millar's amendments in this group seek…
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 11: Recall of Members of the Senedd (Amendments 124, 125)
Thank you, Llywydd. Of course, recall is something that is, in principle, sensible and is widely supported across the Senedd. I don't think anybody is arguing against that. However, what we cannot support this evening is the attempt to directly replicate…
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 9: Vacant seats that cannot be filled in accordance with new section 11 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (to be inserted by section 9 of the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill) (Amendments 29, 30, 33, 34, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123)
Thank you, Llywydd. As Mike Hedges said, the mechanism for filling vacancies reflects, to a great extent, what happens under the current regional list system. We're also going to be the first national legislature in Britain to abolish the first-past-the-post…
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
Can I just ask? One thing that wasn't clear from your contribution is how this amendment is supposed to work with quotas, because what would prevent such a list that was equal in terms of gender from being reordered? If you could just respond on that point.
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
Under the first-past-the-post system in Westminster to elect MPs, voters in reality are choosing from a closed list of one selected by a party. So, we do have to be honest about how much choice electors currently have in terms of who stands for election. The…
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
You suggest that your leader isn't currently accountable because of the way he is elected.
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
For those who say that we should try to change the voting system and destroy the agreement on the package of reforms now, as what accepting the Darren Millar and Jane Dodds amendment would do, I fear that that would take us back to square one. It's not a…
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
That wasn't an intervention, sorry, that was a comment. But I think what we are talking about now is having a more proportional system so that people feel empowered with their voting. So, I do see this as a step forward and we need to admit that there are…
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
I heard a very romantic view of first-past-the-post from Darren Millar, one that I don't subscribe to. I think that, when people do—. You mentioned the differential in terms of constituency and regional votes—people often tell me that they would like to vote…
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
We're in a co-operation agreement—that does not mean that I have great insight into the thinking of the Labour Party, so I would suggest that you ask that question of the Counsel General himself. Because I can justify why Plaid Cymru is willing to compromise…
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
Okay.
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
Thank you, Llywydd. As we all know, there have been a number of panels, committees and commissions that have agreed that our Senedd isn't properly constituted to deliver what the people of Wales requires it to do. There's been a great deal of discussion too…
