Next week, a new Senedd will be elected in Wales, using an altered electoral system. The result will be an enlarged Senedd, with more members than previous incarnations. Jess Blair explains the changes that have been made, analyses their pros and cons, and argues that the chosen electoral system of closed lists should be replaced with the Single Transferable Vote system (STV).
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Monitor 92, published today, provides an analysis of constitutional events over the last four months. In this post, which replicates the issue’s lead article, Alan Renwick and Meg Russell argue that the government continues to make small strides in areas such as constitutional standards and electoral reform, where instead bold action to renew the health of democracy is badly needed.
Continue readingThe government’s long-awaited proposals for electoral reforms, published last month, will receive their first scrutiny in the House of Commons next Monday. Ahead of that debate, Alan Renwick analyses which of the bill’s proposals – and omissions – are likely to spark most contention. He suggests that pressure to strengthen the bill will be intense on multiple fronts.
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On 24 October, the Constitution Unit hosted an event asking whether the government’s electoral reforms go far enough. A common theme that emerged was that the government should go further than its current plans. Rowan Hall summarises the contributions, which are available in full on YouTube and as an episode of our podcast.
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Monitor 91, published today, provides an analysis of constitutional events over the last four months, a period in which the government has announced numerous electoral reforms, created a new standards body, introduced a bill to increase public accountability, and continued progress on legislation to enhance devolution in England. However, in this post, which replicates the lead article from today’s new issue of Monitor, Meg Russell and Alan Renwick argue that many of the reforms fail to go far enough. They say that the government could be seeking to lead, and to set the tone on constitutional standards, but changes instead feel timid and reluctant in the face of serious threats.
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