Warning against “undemocratic” 10% recall threshold for Senedd Members

Published

7 months ago

June 4, 2024

A 10% THRESHOLD for voters to remove Senedd members from office between elections would be undemocratic, the standards commissioner warned.

Douglas Bain, who investigates complaints against Senedd members, gave evidence to a standards committee inquiry looking into introducing a system of recall.

He said: “I very much welcome anything that will strengthen the ability of the public to call to account members of the Senedd. I think that should always be welcome.”

But Mr Bain warned that the closed-list electoral system, which will see people voting for parties rather than candidates from 2026, poses major difficulties.

He said: “If a member was recalled, the public – the electorate – would not have a choice of who might be elected, with the automatic election of the next person on the party list.”

He told the committee it would be “quite wrong” to replace a member in this way, without a byelection, “because only 10% of the electorate have said that’s what they want to happen”.

Stressing it’s a personal view, and ultimately a matter for the Welsh Parliament to decide, Mr Bain said: “I wouldn’t regard that as democratic or acceptable.”

He added: “There has to be some sort of mechanism to ensure actually it’s the will of not just 10% of the people that the member should be replaced, but it’s the majority of the people.”

Peredur Owen Griffiths, a Plaid Cymru member of the committee, pointed out that an MS could be elected with 40% of the vote yet removed with 10%.

Mr Bain suggested giving the standards committee powers to recommend disqualification could work as an alternative but this could be viewed as MSs marking their own homework.

Asked whether proxy and postal votes should be allowed as part of a recall mechanism, Mr Bain said the extra verification steps would unduly complicate the process.

Vikki Howells asked about Westminster’s criteria for triggering a recall petition: a prison sentence of less than 12 months, a ten-day suspension, or an expenses conviction.

Mr Bain, who was appointed in 2021, told the committee chair it is a good starting point.

The standards commissioner said there could be an argument for reducing the 12-month sentence threshold, above which members are automatically disqualified.

He asked: “Is it acceptable that someone who’s been sentenced to six months’ imprisonment … to remain a member of the Senedd? I think many would think the answer is ‘no’.”

Asked if members should be able to appeal, Mr Bain said in his experience of the complaints process, introducing an appeals mechanism risks prolonging the agony for everyone.

He recommended following Westminster’s model as closely as possible, adapting it for Wales as necessary: “Why try to reinvent a wheel that seems to work reasonably well?”

Mr Bain previously served as acting commissioner following Sir Roderick Evans’ resignation in 2019 after he was secretly recorded by Neil McEvoy, the former Plaid Cymru MS.

The commissioner, who is based in Northern Ireland, said a vote of the whole Senedd and a weighted majority should be required due to the serious nature of the recall decision.

“Otherwise it could be used by a party that had a greater number of seats in the Senedd simply to remove opposition, which would be wholly unacceptable,” he warned.

But Joe Rossiter, co-director of the Institute of Welsh Affairs, suggested a vote of the whole Senedd is unnecessary and risks politicisation, with members voting in party blocks.

Mr Rossiter, who joined the independent think tank and charity in 2022, described the members and elections bill as a missed opportunity to include a recall mechanism.

He told the meeting on June 3: “The public have a right to expect high standards from elected officials who are having an increasing impact on everyday life in Wales.”

Ms Howells asked whether politicians should be recalled for changing their allegiance, saying voters are often vexed and lack representation when an MS joins another party.

Mark Drakeford suggested members should be allowed to leave a political group but then only be able to sit as an independent for the rest of that Senedd term.

“They wouldn’t be able to hawk themselves around to different political groups,” he said.

The ex-first minister suggested it is unlikely the main parties will exhaust their 12-candidate lists for constituencies, saying: “You’d have to have a very, very substantial run of bad luck.”

Mr Drakeford said any independent MS would effectively be on a list of one but he argued it would be preferable for the seat to sit vacant rather than hold a by-election.

He told the meeting the unintended consequences of holding by-elections under the new fully proportional system outweigh the problems arising from a vacant seat.

Natasha Asghar, for the Conservatives, asked whether Wales should introduce a public body, similar to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) in Westminster.

Mr Rossiter said an Ipsa-style approach could raise standards throughout the Senedd as an institution, not only among individual members, but it would require more investment.

Pembrokeshire town 4G phone mast plans withdrawn

Published

3 days ago

December 20, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

PLANS for a replacement 20-metre-high 4G phone mast tower in north Pembrokeshire, which the local town council says would have “an unacceptable adverse impact” on the national park’s beauty have been withdrawn.

In an application before Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Cellnex, through agent Telent, sought permission to replace an existing 10m high mast with a new 20m 4G tower with three Vodafone antennae and nine mast head amplifiers, and associated works, on land at Dwr-y-Felin Farm, Fford Bedd Morris, Newport.

The application for a 4G mobile base station for the mobile network operator(s) (MNOs) Vodafone Ltd in conjunction with Cornerstone. The application site is owned / operated by Cellnex UK, a radio site infrastructure provider.

A supporting statement accompanying the application said: “The proposed antenna height of 20m is essential to provide new 4G coverage and replacement 2G and 3G service provision to the surrounding area. 4G radio signals are more sensitive to physical obstructions than older technologies.

“This is because the higher the frequency band the greater the reduction in signal strength, increasing the likelihood of dropped calls and reduced data rates for internet browsing,” adding: “Generally, the higher the signal frequency the more it will be impacted by clutter. It is for this reason that there is the height of 20m is required.”

It went on to say it “should be noted that a radio base station within this location has already been considered acceptable and has become an established feature within the area and the proposed upgrade albeit different in design to support the latest equipment will not be of substantial or detrimental harm to the national park, conservation area or heritage assets”.

Newport Town Council had objected to the application, saying: “The proposed development (if approved in its current form) will have an unacceptable adverse impact on the qualities and special landscape and seascape character of the National Park and also on the special qualities of natural beauty and tranquillity.”

The application has now been withdrawn.

Charity

Flats for veterans to be built at VC Gallery, Pembroke Dock

Published

3 days ago

December 20, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL to build flats for armed forces veterans on a former Pembrokeshire school yard/playing field next to veterans’ charity the VC Gallery has been approved by county planners.

In an application before Pembrokeshire County Council, veterans’ charity The VC Gallery sought permission for eight flats in two blocks of two-storey buildings, including wheelchair accessible flats, for Armed Forces veterans on land to the east of the former St Marys Catholic School site, Britannia Road, Pembroke Dock.

The former school, which closed in 2019, is currently used as the VC Gallery, itself an expansion of veterans’ charity the VC Gallery’s home in Haverfordwest, set up by Barry John MBE.

Documentation, through agent Pembroke Design Limited included a supporting statement by Barry John MBE, which it says “explains the issues that veterans face after leaving the services, the need for dedicated housing provision, the support that VC Gallery’s staff and volunteers provide and the gaps in current provision which the proposed development will help address”.

It added: “Although the development will provide and encourage independent living for its tenants, essential physical and mental support will be provided by the staff and volunteers in the VC Gallery as required, in accordance with individual veterans’ needs. Many will need a high level of support and the close proximity of the flats to the facilities and people on hand in the adjacent VC Gallery is therefore critical to the proposal’s purpose.”

Mr John’s statement said: “We want to create a unique offer to Armed Forces veterans in Pembrokeshire by offering up not just quality accommodation in a gated and safe environment but to also have a bespoke peer mentoring service.”

He added: “Working alongside our stakeholders The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust and the OVA (Office of Veterans Affairs) we have secured a grant to draw up plans and to look at how the secured land at the VC Gallery Pembroke Dock can be turned into a bespoke housing solution for Armed Forces Veterans.

“We have Service level agreements with the local authority for specifically supporting tenancy in veterans which will also extend to giving vital counselling services. Our work with the health board and provision for peer mentorship also gives us great grounding for effective help on a practical level for the veterans’ village but we will need a more designated package around the housing we provide to include both mental health and also maintenance (something we don’t have at present).”

His statement finished: “We think the need is great, we have the land, we have the skills for care and the ambition to help. It would be a project above all social housing enterprises, and we want to make a go of it.”

Politics

Call to stop councillors being employed by MPs and MSs

Published

3 days ago

December 20, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL to stop senior Pembrokeshire county councillors being employed by MPs or Senedd members is to come under greater scrutiny at a special council committee.

In a Notice of Motion submitted to the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, Independent Group leader Cllr Huw Murphy said: “While it is acceptable for Cabinet members to hold other employments, no serving county councillor should hold a Cabinet position within Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC) while simultaneously being employed by a sitting Member of Parliament (MP) or Member of the Senedd (MS).

“Cabinet members hold executive responsibilities, and such dual roles risk potential conflicts of interest, particularly if Cabinet decisions conflict with the policies of their employer, often a political party. This concern is heightened in a council where most members are Independents.”

Cllr Murphy’s notice of motion was heard at the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council where it was agreed the matter be referred to a future constitutional review committee.

In the registration of interests for the eight members of Leader Cllr Jon Harvey’s Cabinet, only Cllr Joshua Beynon, deputy leader of the Labour Group and Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies, lists a politician as an employer, in his case newly-elected Mid and South Pembrokeshire MP Henry Tufnell.

Responding to the notice of motion, Cllr Beynon has previously said: “This motion, which appears to target my unique position as a Cabinet Member for Finance and part-time parliamentary employee, raises serious questions about its fairness, legality, and intent.

“At its core, this is a politically motivated motion that seeks to undermine the principles of fairness and freedom. It attempts to dictate lawful employment choices of councillors, disregarding the importance of balancing public service with individual rights. Such an approach risks creating a chilling effect, discouraging capable individuals from serving in public office in the future.”