A Labour Senedd member called for voters to be given a say over who replaces politicians removed from office for wrongdoing under a new “recall” system.
Alun Davies argued the people – rather than political parties – should decide who is returned following a public vote to remove a sitting Senedd member between elections.
Under a system proposed by the Senedd’s standards committee, and backed by the Welsh Government, the next candidate on a party’s list would automatically be returned instead.
In 2026, Senedd elections will move to a fully proportional “closed-list” system – which will see people voting for parties rather than candidates – with first past the post ditched.
But Mr Davies argued it would be perfectly possible to hold by-elections under a closed-list system using the alternative vote to maintain proportionality in the Senedd.
‘Accountability’
He told the Senedd: “I believe we do need to maintain the principle of the electorate being able to pass judgement, not simply on the individual but on who follows them.”
Mr Davies pointed to the alternative vote system used in the Republic of Ireland for by-elections in the Dáil, the lower house of the Irish parliament.
He said: “The role of the electorate comes … in the place of elections and accountability and, for me, that means that we do need to hold by-elections in any system.”
The Blaenau Gwent Senedd member added that he “fervently hopes” the closed-list system to be used in May 2026 will only be in place for a short time.
Mr Davies made the case for the single-transferrable vote – which would give voters a say over the order of candidates on party lists – as a longer-term solution.
‘Answer to the people’
In November, the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) Cymru similarly backed calls for voters to have a say over who replaces a Senedd member ousted from office.
ERS Cymru director Jessica Blair said automatically replacing someone with the next person on the list could be seen as the party being rewarded for bad behaviour.
Under Westminster’s system, most of the by-elections triggered by recall petitions in the UK Parliament have been won by a different party but in Wales the party would retain the seat.
Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds, a former MP who won a by-election following a recall in Brecon and Radnorshire, warned trust in politics is at an all-time low.
The sole Lib Dem in the Senedd said: “The power of recall is not just its ability to remove an elected representative, it is the message it sends: that politicians must be held to high standards of conduct – or answer to the people.”
‘Remove or replace’
Leading a debate on March 12, committee chair Hannah Blythyn described the report on introducing recall as a significant step to ensure confidence in the political system.
A “remove-or-replace” vote would be held under the plans, asking the public if they want to retain a politician who committed a “serious” breach of the Senedd’s code of conduct.
The ballot would be held on a single day, with postal and proxy voting, unlike in Westminster where a recall petition is opened for six weeks before a by-election is triggered.
The committee similarly diverged from the UK system by not setting out any specific triggers that could lead to a “remove or replace” ballot, with much of the detail to follow in guidelines.
Samuel Kurtz, a Tory member of the committee, pointed out that the Senedd is bringing forward a recall system “far sooner” in its history than the House of Commons.
‘Most democratic institution’
Plaid Cymru’s Peredur Owen Griffiths raised the need to find a compromise, balancing the characteristics of the new electoral system against effective accountability.
Labour’s Mick Antoniw, the architect of the new system, said: “It is a brave and radical step. It will create, I believe, the most democratic institution in all of the parliaments of the UK.”.
Julie James outlined ministers’ formal response to the committee’s recommendations, committing to bringing forward a bill on recall before the 2026 election.
Ms James, who is Mr Antoniw’s successor as counsel general, the Welsh Government’s chief legal adviser, argued clear-cut triggers should be explicitly listed in the bill.
She said: “Public trust in politics is hard-won but easily lost, and it’s our duty to safeguard it. People rightly expect high standards from their elected representatives and when those standards aren’t met, they expect consequences.”