Truthfulness from politicians is essential to rebuild public trust in politics and the way Members of the Senedd (MSs) are held to account must be strengthened, concludes the Senedd’s Standards of Conduct Committee in a report launching today.
In January, the Committee published a report calling for a new ‘recall’ system, allowing the Senedd to recommend that voters can chose to remove and replace a Member of the Senedd (MS) if they seriously breach the Code of Conduct.
Now the Committee is going further, calling on the Welsh Government to strengthen the law to prevent and punish politicians and election candidates who deliberately lie.The report is calling for:
- A toughening of existing laws covering Senedd elections, expanding an existing offence to include deliberate deception by candidates in Senedd elections
- The Code of Conduct for MSs to be strengthened, adding an explicit rule to cover deception, and note it online if MSs have lied
- More independence when investigating complaints and enforcing the Code of Conduct, allow people who aren’t politicians to sit on the Standards of Conduct Committee
- An increase in the Standards Commissioner’s powers – allowing them to initiate their own investigations rather than waiting for complaints to be submitted
Hannah Blythyn MS, Chair of the Senedd’s Standards Committee, said:
“Toughening rules for Members of the Senedd and candidates standing for election is critical at a time when public trust in our institutions is low.
“The next Senedd election in 2026 will bring big changes to how our parliament is elected and structured. It is only right that we use this opportunity to review the way politicians conduct themselves during elections and after they elected.
“The Senedd must represent the people of Wales effectively and people should be able to trust those who represent them. Our report is putting forward recommendations to radically enhance our rules and make it clear to anyone who wants to hold public office that deliberately deceiving is not acceptable.
"By strengthening the law governing elections, toughening our Code of Conduct and giving more power and independence to those investigating complaints, we can start to rebuild public trust in our political institutions and support a parliament fit for the future.”
When developing recommendations for the Welsh Government, Members of the Standards Committee heard evidence from independent academics and organisations with expertise in this area.
The Welsh Government must now respond to the report and its recommendations.
This report comes as part of the Senedd’s Standards Committee’s in-depth inquiry, looking at a range of issues:
- Member Accountability (recall) and disqualification of MSs who are found to have deliberately misled/deceived
- Donations - the arrangements for the registration of political donations to MSs.
- Dignity and respect policies
- Declaration and registration of interests - reviewing whether the arrangements are still fit for purpose
- Reforming the Commissioner for Standards Measure