Skip to main content

THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE REFERENDUM BILL FOR WALES

So it would seem that, in the early hours of this morning, the House of Lords finally passed the bill introducing a referendum on the alternative vote by 221 to 153.

As well as ensuring that a vote takes place on May 5th on the voting system in the UK, the bill has also ensured the number of MPs in the House of Commons will also be reduced from 650 to 600.

In Wales, this will mean that the number of parliamentary constituencies will be reduced by 25 per cent.

Of course, during the last few weeks, we have seen a parade of speeches by Welsh Labour MPs against the bill which, given that they have the most to lose, will not have shocked anyone.

However, given the growing importance of the National Assembly for Wales, the question is what the consequences of this bill will be for our fledgling democracy?

If the number of parliamentary "first past the post" seats is reduced to thirty, then it makes sense for the same reduction to take place within the Assembly so as to maintain the link between representation in both elected bodies.

However, that can only mean that the number of regional seats across Wales will have to increase to compensate for this change. As a result, each of the five regional constituencies will gain two further members.

What effect will this have on democracy in Wales?

Will this give opportunities to smaller parties, such as the Green Party or UKIP, to gain their first seats in the National Assembly via the regional lists? More worryingly, could the BNP, make a breakthrough via this system?

Overall, given that it is parties other than Labour that have done well out of the regional seat arrangement, could it mean that the Labour Party will never again achieve a majority in the Assembly and that coalition government in Wales will become a permanent feature of the National Assembly?

It would seem that the referendum bill may have far more consequences for Wales beyond the reduction in the number of Labour MPs.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

THE CRACHACH

Unlike me, do you consider yourself part of 'the establishment' here in Wales?  As thousands gather for the Eisteddfod in Mold this morning, they will, according to some social commentators, not be participating in the greatest cultural festivals of Europe. Instead, they will merely be bit-part players in one of the annual gatherings of the great and good of Wales.  Unkindly, this set of the movers and shakers in Welsh society is known as 'the crachach' , and constitute a social class all of their own, dominating the educational, cultural and media sectors of Wales and allegedly looking down upon any outsider with new ideas, reinforcing mediocrity and failing to see beyond the limits of their own narrow experience.  They are said to live in a comfort zone that awaits the expected invitation to the next glass of chilled chardonnay and canapés, forgetting that due to their lack of leadership and drive, Wales remains firmly rooted to the bottom of the UK prosperity league ...

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CREATIVE CLASSES

One of my favourite academic books of the last two decades must be the “Rise of the Creative Classes” by Professor Richard Florida.  This was one of the first detailed studies of the growing group of individuals who use their creativity and mental labour to earn a living and not only included those in arts and entertainment, but also people working in science and technology as well as knowledge-based professions such as healthcare, law, business, and finance.  Fast forward to 2022 and Professor Florida has written an updated report on the creative classes although he and his team now identify a different type of individual who is taking full advantage of the growth in digital platforms, social media, and online marketplaces.  Such ‘creators’ are defined as those who use digital technology to make and publish unique creative content, whether in the form of video, film, art, music, design, text, games, or any other media that audiences can access and respond to.  They ...

GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP MONITOR WALES 2022

How entrepreneurial is Wales? That is the question that the latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) attempts to answer in its latest report which investigates those involved in early-stage entrepreneurship i.e. starting and managing a new business.  This year’s results show that the rate of total early-stage entrepreneurship (TEA) in Wales in 2021 was 10.3% as compared to 11.5% for the UK. This is significantly higher than the previous year (6.5%) and means that around 192,000 adults aged between 18 and 64 are involved in entrepreneurial activity in Wales.  Nearly three quarters are in the very early stages of starting a business and the rest involved in managing a new business aged between 4 and 42 months old.  This is an important finding as not only is the overall rate of entrepreneurial activity in Wales increasing but this is largely accounted for by those starting a business. In this respect, it is critical that the right support mechanisms are in place to ensu...