Plaid Cymru calls for bigger, gender-balanced Senedd by next election

Plaid Cymru's leader says the number of Senedd members in Cardiff Bay should increase by at least thirty at the next election in 2026.

Adam Price stance was backed by his party in a vote on Saturday, which said the law should be changed to create a gender-balanced Welsh Parliament.

It comes ahead of talks with Welsh Labour on reforms to the institution.

Plaid said it wanted to put "Welsh democracy on a firm-footing".

Delegates at Plaid Cymru's party conference in Cardiff on Saturday backed a position paper that said Senedd reform should be delivered in four years time.

At the last election the number of female Senedd members increased to 43% - lower than the earlier days of devolution.

While 57% of Labour's MSs are women, a small proportion of Plaid's - 38% - are female.

Some 19% of Tory MSs are women, while the only Liberal Democrat Senedd member is a woman.

BBC Wales understands the motion said a legal mechanism to ensure gender equality must be integrated into any reformed system.

It also calls for other measures to guarantee that ethnic minorities are represented.

It is the second such vote of the Welsh conference season, after Labour delegates backed a motion saying the 60 member parliament should grow to between 80 to 100 members.

But the way they would be elected was left an open question by Labour, with a debate in the party over whether it should endorse a more proportional system.

Plaid Cymru has historically been more supportive of proportional voting systems, endorsing the single transferrable vote system.

Currently the Senedd is elected through a mixture of first past the post - where the candidate with the most votes wins - and a party list system which attempts to reflect how people voted in a regional area.

Plaid's motion rejects first past the post, but also says that if single transferrable vote is not achievable then the multi-member proportional system (MMPS) is the next best option.

MMPS commonly combines a first past the post for constituency seats, and a more proportional system for others.

The Welsh Conservatives have opposed increasing the size of the Senedd.

Caerphilly Labour MS Hefin David has questioned whether the process could be completed by the next election.

The motion approved on Saturday suggested Plaid could back an interim or two-stage model if there are issues with completing a full boundary review by 2026.

Plaid said the motion was passed unanimously by delegates,

Speaking to BBC Wales ahead of the vote, Adam Price said the reformed system had to be "fully proportional".

"It is absolutely essential that we get the Senedd that can do the job that it needs to do which is about improving the lives of the people of Wales.

"We don't have that at the moment.

"We cannot afford to wait another ten years. We have to have change now by the next election. We have to have a Senedd that is genuinely inclusive and diverse."

He said they would want to see a Senedd of 100 members but suggested he would be prepared to compromise.

"Anything less than 90... is simply not going to be able to do the job that the people in Wales are asking us to do."

He acknowledged there could have to be compromises, however: "It's inherent in any context where you're trying to get two parties to work together... you have to find where's the common ground."

A Plaid Cymru spokesman said: "With the foundations of democracy under threat in many parts of the world, Plaid Cymru members have made clear today their wish to make a difference, and put Welsh democracy on a firm footing.

"We are going to continue to work across the parties to bring about a new, gender-balanced Senedd in law by the next election in 2026."