---

Government of Wales Bill

I will be brief. There are three problems with the proposed system. The first, fundamental, one is that it will not deliver what is intended: somebody who will speak for Wales. If you are being elected for Wales, as a candidate you are going to appeal to where most electors are concentrated. That will therefore militate against the rural parts of Wales, so it is a worse system than the existing one. The second, related, point—which has been touched upon—is that it will further distance the Members from electors. The danger there, experienced elsewhere where there are national list systems, is that Members will not have much constituency work, thereby increasing the tension between those carrying a constituency load and those who do not. The third problem is the control it would give to the parties. There is a danger that it would further the stranglehold of the parties experienced elsewhere. There are a lot of problems with national list systems. Electors do not feel that they have their Members, or attached to those they elect to the legislature, so this is moving in the wrong direction. There was a balance of arguments in the earlier amendment, but not in this one. With all due respect, the arguments are overwhelmingly against it.