Voters to be able to eject misbehaving politicians

Voters will be able to eject politicians from the Welsh Parliament for misbehaviour after the next Senedd election.

The Welsh government has agreed to pass legislation to introduce a recall process as soon as possible, saying "public trust in politics is hard-won, but easily lost, and it's our duty to safeguard it".

But ministers suggested it may not be not come into force in time for the beginning of the new Senedd, in May 2026.

Currently if Senedd members are found to have broken the rules they can be suspended for a period of time but, unlike at Westminster, cannot be removed from the parliament altogether.

The Standards of Conduct Committee has proposed a system giving electors the opportunity to vote to remove a misbehaving politician, but unlike in Westminster they will not be able to choose their replacement.

If a Senedd member breaks the rules in a way serious enough to warrant a recall process, voters in their constituency would then have a vote to either keep the existing politician or remove them and replace with the next member on the party list.

Committee chair Hannah Blythyn said the changes would help build "trust and transparency in our processes, in our politicians and in our politics".

She pressed the Welsh government to introduce the new system in time for the next Senedd term "so that all members elected to that Senedd will be held to a consistent standard from the start".

Although Counsel General Julie James agreed to introduce legislation before the next election, she warned "time is tight".

She suggested work on agreeing guidelines on what level of offence or suspension from the Welsh Parliament would trigger the recall process will not happen until after the election.

There is agreement across the parties of a need to change the system and according to James "public trust in politics is hard-won, but easily lost, and it's our duty to safeguard it".

"People rightly expect high standards from their elected representatives, and when those standards aren't met, they expect consequences," she said.

"And that's why we need a fair, transparent system that allows voters, the very people who put us here, to have the final say."