Cyflwynwyd yr ymateb hwn i ymgynghoriad y Pwyllgor Biliau Diwygio ar Fil Senedd Cymru (Aelodau ac Etholiadau).

This response was submitted to the Reform Bill Committee consultation on the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill.

SCME122 Ymateb gan: | Response from:  Mark Ball
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I Mark Ball, as an individual strongly oppose the expansion of the Senedd to 96 members on many grounds including:

1) Cost in the times of current hardship is totally unjustifiable. Both cost now and future cost of maintaining all elements of these additional roles is not a priority and has no majority support from the electorate.

2) We already in Wales have an excellent ratio of members to population represented, so to increase numbers further is an illogical action as there is no need or justification. I believe the ratio of population to member of "government" is already the best in the UK so there is no justification in this increase.

I wish to object in the strongest terms to increasing the size of the Senedd to 96 members.

This increase is totally out of proportion to the population of Wales. We are already well above the UK average and the cost of this increase is an outlay too far especially when critical services in Wales are under-funded.

The optics of this increase in numbers is horrific and to blindly go ahead will be seen as a dictatorial move only serving to distance Welsh Labour even further from the support it had which is now seriously looking at unseating it's representatives by voting for alternative candidates and their parties who actually listen to and thus represent the electorate.

Welsh Labour need to reflect upon the key element of any democracy which is that you work for your electorate, you do not dictate to them which following recent events is what you are now doing.