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.

SCME286 Ymateb gan:  | Response from: Samantha Neale
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I am sending this email to express my opposition to any increase in the number of Senedd Members. Especially in light of the desperate state of the Welsh finances and the fact that the Boundary Commission have already advised against the proposal, Jan ‘23.

There is no justification for increasing the outlay of 36 additional salaries (& expenses). How can the WAG justify this expenditure when they are currently asking public sector organisations (most visibly the fire service) to make significant cost savings to compensate for Welsh Labour having created a £900 million black hole/deficit?

It appears that, in the worst case scenario, the Welsh finances have been mis-managed & that Welsh Labour’s intention is to use this reform bill to wipe out all opposition to Labour & in so doing create their own dictatorship. The first minister has said himself, recently, that his greatest desire is to see a conservative free Wales.

We can not afford 36 more members in the Senedd.
There are far more pressing areas for investment…NOT extra Senedd members.

Our NHS & community services/care are on their knees, tourism is down. Welsh Labour want to promote more & more active travel but forget/ignore the fact that the majority of our country is very rural & isolated. Active travel is fine in cities but the infrastructure is crumbling everywhere else. The public transport system is shambolic, it doesn’t offer an alternative for car users across most of the country.
Welsh Labour need to be held to account, they are wasting our tax payers money and seem to have lost touch with their country & their electorate. The default 20mph is another huge waste of money. Councils already had the power to create 20mph zones…why couldn’t Welsh Labour have just instructed local councils to re-look at their road networks to identify any areas that would benefit from being 20mph zones, using local knowledge & consultation.

I strongly oppose the proposed increase in Senedd Members.
Regards,
Samantha Neale.