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Caerphilly County Borough Council
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County Borough Councillor Ken James
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16th June 2003
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| The Richard Commission |
| I wish to make the following
personal statement regarding the Commission's enquiry
into the National Assembly of Wales |
| 1. The current
Alternative Member System is totally undemocratic.
310,658 Labour votes were thrown away and were
totally disenfranchised. Why were these
votes not respected and consequently treated with contempt?
In a deomocratic society surely every vote should be apportioned
equal value, the 36.6% vote freely assigned to Labour
shows a nil recognition whereas those cast for the other
parties show returns far exceeding their share of the
vote. If the system was administered democratically
and proportionally the second vote ought to have been:- |
| Labour |
36.6% 310,515 votes ............ 7 seats |
| Plaid Cymru |
19.7% 167,653 votes ............ 4 seats |
| Conservatives |
19.2% 162,725 votes ............. 3 seats |
| Liberal Democrats |
12.7% 108,013 votes ............. 2 seats |
Others
(to highest returning "others", in vote). |
11.9% 100,503 votes ............. 2 seats |
| This would have given
a political balance of - |
| Labour |
37 |
| Plaid Cymru |
9 |
| Conservaties |
5 |
| Liberal Democrats |
6 |
| Others |
3 |
| This would have DEMOCRATICALLY
respected the way the electorate cast their votes. |
| The second seats, (if they are
really necessary), must be apportioned NATIONALLY not
regionally so that they can reflect the proportion of
votes cast for each political party. This would
have accurately reflected the votes cast and the wishes
of the voting electorate. |
| The electoral system is democratically
flawed if it allows individuals to be rejected by their
constituency and yet returned by an alternative vote method. |
| Prospective members should not
be permitted to stand for constituency and regional
seats. I totally endorse the House of Commons Early
Day Motion 1197. |
| It must be remembered that the
mandate for setting up the Assembly was won on the narrowest
of margins; in fact, the vast majority of the Principality
chose not to vote; therefore, the Assembly's powers should
remain unchanged and be a matter for the national Labour
Party, Labour groups and the people of Wales in a General
Election and Referendum. |
| It remains a matter of grave
concern that a third of the Assembly's members have no
direct accountability to voters. Perhaps this demonstrates
that THE TRUE DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM IS FIRST PAST THE POST
whereby the electorate can identify with their chosen
candidate and that proportional representation undermines
the democratic link between member and his or her constituents.
I would therefore like to support the call for the abolition
of the top up list for Welsh Assembly elections.
If it has to remain, a fairer, more transparent method
must be used that does not discard honestly won Labour
votes and is based, as I stated previously on a Wales
wide basis not "shared" around regions. |
| Labour is now in power both at
Westminster and Wales. MP's and AM's must exercise
that power entrusted to them by the people and respect
the wishes of the electorate by giving them the system
they voted for, a Labour Government both at Westminster
and Cardiff. The votes show that the vast majority
of the voting electorate in Wales wanted a Labour administration,
not a weak, unstable, "mix and match", that is delivered
by this type of PR system. The system MUST be changed. |
| Yours sincerely |
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| Cllr Ken James |
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