Ensuring that politicians are accountable to their electorate is a key principle of a modern democracy. But is the current system in the Senedd robust enough to challenge Members who break the rules?
How elected members are held accountable for their actions has been a hot topic in Wales, and across the rest of the UK, in recent years. Numerous studies have shown declining levels of trust in elected politicians. The Senedd’s Standards Committee is holding an inquiry into potential reforms of the system used to hold Members to account in the Senedd.
This follows work by the Senedd’s Reform Bill Committee and Senedd Members on electoral reform for devolved elections.
This article looks in particular at two key areas being considered by the Standards Committee to strengthen accountability: recall and deliberate deception.
Current accountability measures
The main form of accountability for Members of the Senedd comes at election time. At each election, the Welsh public has its say on a party’s record in government or opposition and its manifesto, or on the performance of an individual.
However, there are other mechanisms in place to hold politicians accountable between elections.
In the Senedd, this comes primarily in the form of the Members Code of Conduct. The purpose of the Code is to uphold the reputation of the Senedd and to provide the openness and accountability necessary to reinforce public confidence in the Senedd.
Complaints about a Member breaching the Code are investigated by the Standards Commissioner. If a complaint is investigated, the Commissioner will report to the Standards of Conduct Committee, who can recommend a sanction for the Member, which is voted on by the Senedd.
These sanctions include excluding the Member from Senedd proceedings for a fixed length of time, removing certain rights and privileges such as their pay, or simply ‘censuring’ them.
Recall
One of the areas that has been discussed to strengthen this accountability is for a system of recall for Senedd Members. This would allow voters to remove their representative between elections.
A recall system has been used in Westminster since 2015 and so far has seen four MPs removed from their positions. A recall petition can only be triggered in Westminster in particular circumstances.
The Standards of Conduct Committee has heard from expert witnesses that the Westminster model is a generally good one to follow, but that the specific circumstances of the Senedd need to be considered.
One of these will be that the electoral system that will be used from 2026 onwards – a closed list – does not allow for by-elections. When an MP is recalled at Westminster, their seat is filled using a by-election. The recalled MP can stand in the by-election.
In a Senedd system this would not be possible, so consideration is needed of how this might affect the model adopted for recall. It would mean that the result of a successful recall petition would directly remove a Member of the Senedd without an opportunity for them to stand in a by-election.
Witnesses have also suggested that the Senedd may want to consider a higher threshold of required signatures for a petition to be successful. The Westminster model currently needs 10% of registered voters to sign a petition. In a Senedd system, a successful petition would remove a Member without an opportunity to stand in a by-election, so this 10% threshold may be too low a bar for that automatic removal. An alternative could be to offer voters the chance to also show their support for a Member to remain in post in a recall petition, rather than only vote to remove them.
The Committee is asking for a broad range of views on recall but is offering two potential options:
- A recall petition is run asking only if a Member should be recalled. If that was successful, they would lose their seat and the next person on that party’s list would be elected to fill the seat.
- A recall petition would ask whether a Member should remain in place or not, offering voters the chance to show their support for the Member. This would be subject to a campaign period, allowing the Member subject to the recall process an opportunity to defend their position with the electorate.
Deliberate deception
The Welsh Government has committed to:
bring forward legislation before 2026 for the disqualification of Members and candidates found guilty of deliberate deception through an independent judicial process..
This came as a result of negotiations between Welsh Ministers and the Senedd Members who supported an amendment to the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill to make ‘deliberate’ and ‘wilful’ deception by Senedd politicians a criminal offence.
The amendment would have meant that any Senedd Member or candidate in a Senedd election found guilty of an offence of deception would have been disqualified from being a Member for four years.
Supporters of making ‘deliberate deception’ an offence argue that existing systems for managing the conduct of elected politicians have done little to stop declining levels of trust in politics. They say creating an offence is necessary to tackle misinformation and the distortion of truth ‘for political gain’.
While acknowledging the importance of the issue, the Welsh Government expressed reservations about unintended “adverse consequences” of the amendment. It therefore held discussions with supporters of the proposals to remove the amendment from the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill in exchange for a commitment to bring forward additional legislation before 2026 after further consultation.
The Senedd’s Standards Committee was asked to carry out this further consultation as part of its inquiry on Individual Member Accountability. Additional Senedd Members from all four parties in the Senedd will be joining the Committee to consider this specific issue.
The Committee has already taken some evidence on deception but is looking to gather further views in its current consultation on accountability. It is seeking views on a range of measures to address deliberate deception including on the potential for a new criminal offence.
How to get involved
The Standards of Conduct Committee’s consultation on strengthening accountability is open until 27 September 2024. You can have your say by filling in this consultation form.
The Committee will be considering the evidence it receives over the autumn in time to support the Welsh Government’s commitment to bring forward legislation before the 2026 Senedd General Election.
Article by Josh Hayman & Nia Moss, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
