Clwyd West MS and Shadow Minister for North Wales, Darren Millar, has once again blasted Welsh Government proposals to increase the number of MSs by 60%, emphasising that the billions needed for this would be better spent “helping patients get access to doctors, dentists, tests and treatment, driving up poor standards in our schools and delivering better paid jobs for Welsh workers”.
Speaking in the Senedd Reform debate in the Welsh Parliament on Tuesday, Darren also stressed that there is no public mandate for these proposals.
He said:
“It will come as no surprise to anybody in this Chamber this afternoon to hear that the Welsh Conservatives will be voting against the progression of the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill this evening.
"Wales needs more doctors, nurses, dentists and teachers, it does not need more politicians. And it is a great shame to see the time, energy and resources of both the Welsh Government and this Senedd focused on a piece of legislation that will increase the number of Members of the Welsh Parliament by an eye-watering 60 per cent when we could be discussing matters that are more important to the people of Wales, such as helping patients get access to doctors, dentists, tests and treatment, driving up poor standards in our schools and delivering better paid jobs for Welsh workers. These are the priorities of the people of Wales and they should be our priorities as their elected representatives too.
“Not once have I ever knocked on a door in Clwyd West, or Clwyd North, and been told that their priorities are more politicians in Cardiff Bay. Instead, they tell me that they want action to deliver better schools, hospitals, roads and flood defences.
Darren stressed that the costs of a larger Senedd and more Welsh Government Ministers will run to tens of millions of pounds each and every year.
He added:
“Significant changes to how Members of this Welsh Parliament are elected should only be implemented with the consent of the public we are here to serve, yet there is no public mandate whatsoever for the changes proposed in this Bill. Every one of us in this Chamber knows that the overwhelming majority of the public do not support an increase in the size of the Senedd; that was borne out by evidence taken by the Senedd reform committee.”
“I appreciate that some members of other political parties believe that there is public support, so I say this to you: if there is, let's have a referendum. Give the people of Wales the choice on whether to endorse this atrocious system to elect people to this Senedd or not, and I can tell you which fingers they will use to salute you in response.”
