Dr Ben Stanford discusses the Senedd’s plans for recall.
In the wake of recent political scandals and examples of misconduct in public office, there is growing recognition of the need to restore public trust in politics in Wales and beyond. At the same time, the effectiveness of current standards and mechanisms for sanctioning misconduct has been called into doubt and there is a clear need to improve formal mechanisms of accountability. One possible way of addressing this is to confer voters with the power to fire elected politicians during their term of office, otherwise known as recall, which is gathering momentum across the United Kingdom. In that respect, the Welsh Government pledged in March 2025 to bring forward legislation before the end of the current Senedd to establish a mechanism for recalling Members of the Senedd (MSs).
Stepping back briefly, recalling Members of Parliament (MPs) in Westminster has been possible since 2015 with the Recall of MPs Act 2015. This mechanism allows for a recall petition and the possibility of a by-election if any one of three conditions is met. First, if an MP is convicted of an offence and sentenced to imprisonment for less than one year; second, if an MP is suspended from the House of Commons for at least 10 sitting or 14 calendar days; or third, if the MP is convicted of the specific offence of making false or misleading Parliamentary allowance claims. A recall petition may then be opened in the MP’s constituency for six weeks where, if 10% of registered voters sign, the seat is declared vacant and a by-election is held.
First, the proposal would effectively establish a “retain or remove and replace” system, whereby voters would be asked to either retain the MS in office or remove the sitting MS and replace them with the next candidate on the party list from the previous Senedd election.
The Act received a lukewarm reception initially over concerns it would be ineffective, or powerful vested interests would exploit the process, but it has slowly proved its worth. Four successful recall petitions leading to by-elections have taken place, whilst others may also have taken place if circumstances had not intervened, such as the MP’s resignation. In Scotland, a Member’s Bill to establish a recall mechanism for the Scottish Parliament, closely resembling the Westminster model in some respect, is currently undergoing scrutiny. However, one stumbling block is the different system for electing regional Members of the Scottish Parliament, which the proposed system for the Senedd will also have to confront.
Turning to Wales, momentum to establish a Senedd recall mechanism began in June 2024 when the Welsh Parliament Standards of Conduct Committee agreed to consider proposals for recall for situations when Members of the Senedd breach the Code of Conduct. Currently, an MS can be suspended for a period of time, but they cannot be removed from office, unless they are automatically disqualified for serious conduct such as receiving a prison sentence of more than 12 months. The Committee reported in January 2025, recommending the establishment of a recall mechanism tailored to the new electoral system being introduced for the next Senedd election. The proposed system would provide for the recall process to be held on a single day after a six-week notice period, in circumstances when the responsible Senedd committee has found that the MS has breached the Code of Conduct. In that respect, there are several major differences to the UK Westminster model, in large part due to the different electoral system soon to come into effect.
Syniadau uchelgeisiol, awdurdodol a mentrus.
Ymunwch â ni i gyfrannu at wneud Cymru gwell.
First, the proposal would effectively establish a “retain or remove and replace” system, whereby voters would be asked to either retain the MS in office or remove the sitting MS and replace them with the next candidate on the party list from the previous Senedd election. This would, as the Electoral Reform Society have argued, significantly limit the input and role of voters. This is because voters will only be presented with the choice to retain or remove individual Members from office, rather than also being given the option to hold the respective political party accountable and for a genuine choice between candidates and parties in a fresh by-election. The new voting system to be used in Wales for the next Senedd election – closed list proportional representation – means that voters will merely be offered a choice of political parties rather than individual candidates and by-elections will not be possible.
Given the power handed to voters, recall petitions challenge the balance of interests between the electorate and parliament.
Second, linked to the narrow scope of recall, the Committee recommended that the process should be held on one single day, akin to a by-election, with no threshold requirement to remove the sitting MS. Whilst this would simplify the recall process and align recall with the new voting system, the problem remains that voters will be given a narrow choice between retaining the MS or replacing them with another MS from the same political party. As the Electoral Reform Society observed, out of the four Westminster parliamentary by-elections that followed recall, three were won by different political parties. This suggests that with the UK Parliament recall mechanism, voters have more often than not decided to punish the impugned politician as well as their respective political party.
Agreeing to all of the Committee’s proposals in full or at least in principle, the Welsh Government has pledged to introduce a system of recall during the current Senedd, which will end no later than May 2026. However, the Government have added a caveat that it would not be operational until further legislation and guidelines are issued at some point during the next parliamentary session.
Given the power handed to voters, recall petitions challenge the balance of interests between the electorate and parliament. On the one hand, the public have an obvious interest in who is elected to represent them in their political system as a representative democracy, including matters of that individual’s conduct. On the other hand, maintaining stability and confidence in political structures is crucial to ensure the effectiveness and legitimacy of that representative democracy. Removing politicians from office simply because constituents disliked their character, conduct or voting record would risk jeopardising the credibility of a representative democracy and the stability of the Senedd. It is sensible, therefore, that such a possibility will not be possible and sitting Members of the Senedd could only be removed for serious misconduct.
Gofod i drafod, dadlau, ac ymchwilio.
Cefnogwch brif felin drafod annibynnol Cymru.
Whilst recall mechanisms around the world remain relatively rare, there is growing momentum in this area. As trust and confidence in the UK’s systems of government appears to be in decline, providing for a system of recall will go some way to address this. The proposed recall mechanism for Wales would help to enhance accountability to some extent, but with one clear flaw – that political parties linked to or even partly responsible for an individual Member’s misconduct could not be held to account. The proposed system may help to restore some trust and confidence in Welsh politics, but the risk of alienating the public remains if voters are only given a heavily diluted power of recall.
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