Welsh Parliament
With only 60 MSs, Welsh democracy is overstretched. But how might a larger parliament be elected?
For a parliament fit for the 21st century we need the right number of members
Tell your MSs
Senedd Reform
With only 60 MSs, Welsh democracy is overstretched. Due to Cabinet and official appointments, the Welsh Parliament/ Senedd Cymru has barely 42 backbenchers available to scrutinise the government. There are simply not enough backbench MSs to fill all the committee seats and develop the specialist knowledge they need to do the job properly. We need more Members of the Senedd so our Parliament can better deliver for the people of Wales.
Size Matters, written in 2013 jointly with the UK’s Changing Union project (a partnership including Cardiff University Wales Governance Centre and the Institute of Welsh Affairs), set out the case for increasing the number of MSs from 60 to 100.
Our 2016 report, Reshaping the Senedd, looked at how these additional members might be elected. It recommended that the Single Transferable Vote or a particular version of Open List would best provide the basis for a stable and lasting electoral system for the Welsh Parliament.
Since then calls for reform have gathered steam, with an Expert Panel on Assembly Electoral Reform recommending 80-90 members, elected through the Single Transferable Vote, with strong diversity measures in place.
For a parliament fit for the 21st century we need the right number of members
We need more MSs to do the job of scrutiny properly on behalf of the people of Wales.
Tell your MSs >
More information about Welsh Parliament
ERS Cymru
Posted 11 Sep 2020
ERS Cymru
Posted 09 Jul 2020
New Voices: How Welsh politics can begin to reflect Wales
How diverse our elected representatives are is an issue that goes to the very heart of our democracy.
Reshaping the Senedd
Increasing the number of AMs would require adjustment in current electoral arrangements – but how, and on what basis, should this be done?
Submission for
Letter to the Welsh Assembly Equalities Committee
Submission for
Response to the Welsh Government’s ‘Creating a Parliament for...