When the Local Government and Elections Wales Act 2021 was brought into force in Wales it meant 16 and 17 year olds and foreign citizens legally resident in Wales could vote in council elections. It also gave councils the power to scrap the first-past-the-post system to elect councillors.
Each of Wales' 22 councils could decide which of two voting systems - first past the post or single transferable vote – to use for local elections.
In the Senedd on Wednesday afternoon, Plaid MSs, with the support of sole Lib Dem MS Jane Dodds, will ask Welsh Government to work closely with the new councils elected in May's forthcoming election to ensure that in 2027, a uniform national system is used to elect councillors across Wales by 2027.
They say in Scotland, a more proportional system is used in local elections, reducing the number of uncontested seats, and "ensuring that all votes count".
Here, Plaid Cymru Senedd member Rhys ab Owen explains why he thinks it's needed:
I am a democrat first and foremost. This is where my belief in Welsh independence comes from, the need to bring democracy closer to individuals, to families and to communities. In the same vein, I am a staunch supporter of a voting system which encapsulates and empowers the most people possible in an election. That is why I am bringing a debate forward in the Senedd on ensuring a proportional voting system for future council elections.
There are many seats in Wales that have been dominated by one party for decades. Often 60% of people’s votes are discounted with one party taking power over the executive. It is important to state that this is not about party politics, it is about people power, and the equality of the ballot regardless of where you live.
In the 2017 local elections, we see one party taking complete power repeatedly, without the majority of the votes cast. In Monmouthshire for example, the Conservatives won 46% of the vote, but 58% of the seats; in Cardiff, Labour won 39% of the votes but 52% of the seats. Finally, to show that I am not playing favourites, in Gwynedd, Plaid Cymru won 39% of the vote but 54% of the seats.
For democracy to be strong, robust, and lasting we need an electorate that feels that their voices are heard, not to be stifled by an outdated system where voters can’t express their freedom of choice.
One-party councils are unhealthy for the democratic process, while also being unhealthy for communities. They constitute a modern fiefdom, where ‘scrutiny’ committees reviewing millions of pounds in government contracts barely scrutinise, because of the domination of the ruling party. The Electoral Reform Society found that in 2015, single party dominated councils were wasting as much as £2.6 billion a year due to this lack of scrutiny.
Decisions are made pre-emptively, in private rooms behind closed doors, later to be sprung on the symbolic minority where opinions, debates and due process matter little. The ERS’ study looked at thousands of public sector contracts and found that these one-party dominated councils were about 50% more at risk of corruption than politically competitive councils.
Bad for democracy, bad for voters, and bad for the public purse.
But there are some constituencies where you literally cannot vote for another member. In the last local government elections in 2017 nearly 100 councillors in Wales stood unchallenged, with one councillor in Powys remaining unchallenged for 37 years. If we compare this to Scotland, which introduced a proportional voting system back in 2007 the shift is dramatic. While 61 Scottish councillors were elected without a challenge in 2003, after the switch not a single seat was uncontested.
In Wales however this number was 92. This number is frankly appalling, but it is testament to the stifling impact of the First Past the Post system on democratic choice in the UK. The plurality of choice is a cornerstone for healthy democracy, and we in Wales should be ashamed of the paralysis that has gripped some constituencies and some councils.
Even when there is more than one candidate up for election, people often feel their votes are stifled or contained. Voters should not have to vote for parties they don’t want to vote for. Tactical voting becomes a proxy of forced voting, not for individuals or policies that voters want, but to stop parties they are against from gaining power. Or the electorate feels compelled to vote for a dominant party instead of smaller parties like the Greens.
We are limiting our freedom to choose by keeping this archaic, first past the post system, which is almost 150 years old, older than female suffrage.
I am proud that the Plaid Cymru and Labour Co-operation Agreement is dedicated to an equal, or more representative voting system for future Senedd elections. In Wales, co-operation has been essential, ever since the National Assembly for Wales was created in 1999, so different to the confrontational stale two party process in Westminster. Working across parties as Plaid Cymru and the Wales Green Party has done with our Common Ground alliance in Cardiff, even within the confines of the existing system is an exciting way forward, but the potential could be far more with a national proportional system across Wales.
It may be a shock to many political commentators across the border, but this is a normal process and is a process repeated across the other nations of the UK, Europe and across the democratic world.
All council elections in Wales should move to this system. The Renewing Local Democracy Report argued about the clear link which existed between democracy and good governance, with the latter flowing from the former. A good democracy reflects the choices of its voters, not just 40% of them. If we want to combat political apathy, something which is running rampant in this country, we need to help people maximise their voices.
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