More people in Wales back the idea of increasing the number of Senedd Members than oppose it, according to a poll for WalesOnline and the Western Mail.
The Senedd is currently considering whether to increase the number of its elected politicians from 60, a figure that has remained the same since the foundation of the then National Assembly for Wales in 1999. There are proposals to increase it to up to 90 members.
The matter is being reviewed following concerns that there aren’t enough Members to hold the government to account, especially since the growth in work following the introduction of primary law making powers.
Our poll, conducted by Beaufort Research, showed that 48% agreed there should be more MSs while 30% disagreed, with the rest saying they didn’t know.
Crucially, those who were interviewed for the poll were told why a proposal for more MSs was being discussed.
They were also told how many Members there currently are of the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
A statement read to the participants said: “The Senedd / Welsh Parliament is currently considering whether to increase the number of elected Senedd Members.
“A panel of experts said the current number of 60 was too low to represent the people of Wales, hold the Welsh Government to account and deal with its growing workload effectively. “As a result, they recommended an increase to around 90 members. This will incur extra costs.
“The Scottish Parliament has 129 elected members while the Northern Ireland Assembly has 90 elected members.”
They were then asked the question: “To what extent do you agree or disagree that the number of Senedd Members should be increased to around 90?”
After seeing the context, 13% of those surveyed strongly agreed that the number of Senedd Members should be increased to around 90 while a further 35% agreed.
In contrast, 16% strongly disagreed with the idea and 14% disagreed, while the remaining 21% didn’t have an opinion.
Young people are much more likely to support the idea than older people – 61% of 16-34s would like to see the number of Senedd Members increase, compared to just 34% of those aged 55+.
Those in the oldest age group are more likely to be against an increase than in favour, with 46% of those aged 55+ disagreeing (27% strongly, 19% simply disagreeing), compared to just 34% agreeing (9% strongly and 25% simply agreeing).
The reverse is true among people aged 16-34 and 35-54, where a majority are in favour of more Senedd Members (61% to 14% for 16-34 year-olds and 53% to 26% for 35-54 year-olds).
Welsh speakers are much more likely than non-Welsh speakers to support an increase in the number of Senedd Members, with 65% of fluent Welsh speakers and 61% of non-fluent Welsh speakers agreeing with the idea, compared to 41% of non-Welsh speakers.
Support in North Wales is highest of all regions (at 53% in favour, compared to 48% overall). The highest disagreement is evident in Mid/ West Wales and Cardiff and South East Wales (at 37% and 35% respectively, compared to 30% across Wales).
In terms of gender, women were slightly more positive about the idea than men, with men backing it by 47% to 37% and women by 50% to 24%.
Professor Laura McAllister, who chaired the independent panel which recommended an increase in the number of MSs, said: “It’s often been said that people won’t support proposals for there to be more politicians.
“But these results are very encouraging and show that once the question is put in context people understand why it’s important to have more MSs in order to scrutinise the government effectively.
“I believe there is now an irresistible tide in favour of the argument and that with the Cooperation Agreement between Labour and Plaid Cymru change will come.
“As a panel we looked internationally at the number of parliamentarians considered necessary against a range of measures including population and the powers of the institution, and in every case the Senedd came out as under-represented.
“It makes no sense at all that 10 local authorities in Wales have more members than the Senedd.
“Another interesting takeaway from the poll is that younger people are more likely to back the change than older ones. They have grown up with devolution and have no hang-up about the Senedd getting more Members to make it a more effective body.
“Now the political parties need to agree about the electoral system that will be used to elect more Members, but that’s another issue.”
Currently 40 MSs are elected in “first past the post” constituencies, with the remaining 20 by a form of proportional representation.
Advocates of reform hope more MSs will be elected at the next Senedd election in 2026.
* Beaufort Research conducted fieldwork for the survey between January 17 and February 6 this year. A total of 1,000 interviews were completed and analysed, with results adjusted so they represent an accurate cross-section of the adult population of Wales.
To get our free daily briefing on the biggest issues affection the nation, Wales Matters, click here
