A call has been made to the Welsh Government to commit to a Bill that would make lying an offence in the Senedd.
The Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS has backed a motion to the Senedd Cymru (Candidates list) which would see it become an offence for a Senedd member, or a candidate standing for election to the Senedd, to purposely make a false or misleading statement.
According to a poll from IPSOs, only 9% of the British public believe that politicians can be trusted to say the truth.
The Welsh Lib Dems have backed the anti-lying motion, as part of their campaign to clean up Welsh politics.
Speaking to the Siambr on Tuesday, Jane Dodds MS urged Counsel General Julie James to confirm the Welsh Government’s commitment to making deceit an offence in the Senedd, stating that it would be “cruelly ironic if this critical legislation fails to pass due to the Government wavering on its commitment.”
She said: “Failing to deliver on this promise to clean up Welsh politics would not only undermine the agreement made between Welsh Labour and the Senedd, but it would also further erode public trust in our elected institutions, trust which is already at a historic low.
“In the past few months, we have seen a flurry of scandals that have rocked the Welsh Government, damaging public perception of an executive that should’ve been focusing on the issues affecting our healthcare and public services instead of fighting internal fires.
“We cannot carry on like this, the people of Wales deserve a political system that works for them and not against them,” she added.
The Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS has backed a motion to the Senedd Cymru (Candidates list) which would see it become an offence for a Senedd member, or a candidate standing for election to the Senedd, to purposely make a false or misleading statement.
According to a poll from IPSOs, only 9% of the British public believe that politicians can be trusted to say the truth.
The Welsh Lib Dems have backed the anti-lying motion, as part of their campaign to clean up Welsh politics.
Speaking to the Siambr on Tuesday, Jane Dodds MS urged Counsel General Julie James to confirm the Welsh Government’s commitment to making deceit an offence in the Senedd, stating that it would be “cruelly ironic if this critical legislation fails to pass due to the Government wavering on its commitment.”
She said: “Failing to deliver on this promise to clean up Welsh politics would not only undermine the agreement made between Welsh Labour and the Senedd, but it would also further erode public trust in our elected institutions, trust which is already at a historic low.
“In the past few months, we have seen a flurry of scandals that have rocked the Welsh Government, damaging public perception of an executive that should’ve been focusing on the issues affecting our healthcare and public services instead of fighting internal fires.
“We cannot carry on like this, the people of Wales deserve a political system that works for them and not against them,” she added.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Andrew R.T. Davies AM I would like to request, please, a statement
00:05from the Counsel General regarding the progress on the proposed legislation aimed at combating
00:11deception in politics.
00:13Back in July, following a debate in the Senedd, I was pleased to see the Welsh Government
00:17commit to bringing forward legislation on this matter, with a clear deadline to do so
00:22before the election in 2026.
00:26However, in recent weeks, concerns have been raised about whether the Welsh Government
00:30will fully deliver on this pledge.
00:33It would be deeply concerning and cruelly ironic if this critical legislation on deception
00:39were not brought forward due to the Government wavering on its commitments.
00:44Failing to deliver would undermine the agreement made in the Senedd, but would also further
00:50erode public trust.
00:52Could I therefore seek your reassurance, and reassurance from the Counsel General, that
00:58the Welsh Government remains fully committed to introducing legislation to disqualify Members
01:03found guilty of deliberate deception by 2026, as promised?
01:08Diolch yn fawr iawn.