Ahead of a debate on Assembly electoral reform this week, Rhea Stevens is joined by Jess Blair, Natasha Davies, and Carmen Ria Smith to discuss next steps for the McAllister review.
The Expert Panel on Assembly Electoral Reform, the McAllister review, reported in December 2017 and made a series of proposals for using new powers to reform elements of the Assembly’s electoral system. It was asked to make recommendations which could be implemented in time for the Assembly election in 2021.
Some of the proposals the report made were:
- Increasing the number of Assembly Members to at least 80, and more like 90
- Proposing using different systems by which AMs are elected. First choice being STV, and a viable alternative being Flexible List
- Lowering the voting age for Assembly elections to 16 year olds
- Integrating a gender quota into the electoral system, and allowing AMs to job share
This week, 7 February 2018, the Assembly will discuss a motion on a planned Consultation on Assembly Reform. This week also marks 100 years since some women in the UK were first given the vote.
Ahead of the debate in the Assembly later this week, unpicking the issues at play, Rhea Stevens is joined by
- Jess Blair, Director of ERS Cymru
- Natasha Davies, Chwarae Teg’s Policy and Research Lead
- Carmen Ria Smith, NUS Wales Deputy President
You can listen to the podcast here.
A few points I would ask you to consider:
1. The Welsh Assembly has at best been aa disappointment and at wost a disaster so the idea of increasing the number of AMs seem plain daft!
2. Even Welsh AMs admit that much of their work is a ‘waste of time’. (See Welsh AM debates in Westminster last week).
3. Most young people tend to be politically ill educated or if not then ‘left of centre’ so unless you want a socialist government the idea of giving 16 year olds the vote also seems daft.
4. A gender quota may mean we get poorer representation than we deserve. Careful consideration required here. How would you feel about a gender quota for airline pilots, scientists or surgeons?
5. There is no public debate on the poor value of the elsh Assembly and how we might get rid of it.