Politicians who deliberately lie could be forced from office in Wales
Elected politicians who deliberately lie could be forced from office under proposals designed to put Wales at the forefront of the 'global challenge' to restore trust in politics.
Radical changes suggested by the Welsh parliament standards committee would also make candidates in elections liable to criminal prosecution for making any false statement to win votes.
The Welsh government has committed to introduce 'globally pioneering' legislation aimed at making lying in politics in Wales illegal by next year and asked the Senedd's standards of conduct committee to investigate the best way of doing it.
Committee members recommended strengthening the Senedd code of conduct, which applies to the behaviour of members inside and outside the parliament, and said it should explicitly state that members must not make deliberately misleading statements.
If a member was caught lying, the committee said they should be asked to retract the falsehood and the correction would be placed on their profile on the Senedd website.
They could also face suspension and, in extreme cases, be 'recalled and removed' by voters and replaced with another member of their party.
The committee said it had looked at bringing in a law to make lying for elected politicians illegal in Wales but thought this would be too complex.
There is already legislation in Wales that makes it an offence for political candidates to make or publish a false statement of fact about the personal conduct or character of a rival to win votes.
The committee is recommending widening the scope of the offence to cover any false statement made by a Welsh candidate to seek electoral advantage. If this law was broken, the candidate would be subject to investigation by the police and prosecution by an electoral court.
The issue is seen as particularly urgent in Wales because changes to the voting system at next year's Senedd elections and an increased size of parliament are likely to make the campaign particularly febrile, with Reform UK having a good chance of winning seats.
Hannah Blythyn, the chair of the committee, said toughening rules for Senedd members and candidates was critical at a time when public trust in institutions was low.
She said: 'People should be able to trust those who represent them. Our report is putting forward recommendations to radically enhance our rules and make it clear to anyone who wants to hold public office that deliberately deceiving is not acceptable.'
Sam Fowles, the director of the Institute for Constitutional and Democratic Research, said: 'This report is a rejection of the counsels of doom which say that demanding politicians are honest is just too difficult.
'We have professional regulations which require other professions to act honestly. We need to hold politicians to the same professional standards we expect from others.'
Jennifer Nadel, a co-director of the thinktank Compassion in Politics, said: 'This report puts Wales firmly at the forefront of the battle against political deception. However, the report falls short of calling for serving members to be subject to criminal sanction, instead relying on beefing up existing standards mechanisms. We would like to see it go further in this respect. The Senedd is acting and we now call on Westminster to follow suit.'
A Welsh government spokesperson said it would consider the findings and recommendations before responding formally.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Why is Kemi Badenoch engaging in a new culture war on the burqa?
In clear evidence she is attempting to appeal to the right, Kemi Badenoch recently announced a review of Conservative policy on the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and promised the end of 'lawfare' against service personnel accused of crimes as well as curbs on 'activist' judges. Over the weekend, prompted by developments in Reform UK, she also said she wouldn't speak to any constituent who came to one of her surgeries wearing a burqa, and described sharia courts and cousin marriage as 'insidious'. It feels a bit desperate… What is Kemi Badenoch up to? You don't have to be an expert engineer, as she is, to work it out. Reform UK and Nigel Farage have been eating her lunch, opening up a 10-point lead in the opinion polls, taking eight county councils from the Conservatives, humiliating Tory candidates in the Runcorn and Hamilton (Scottish parliament) by-elections, grabbing media attention (albeit not always positive) and generally behaving like the 'real' opposition – more rallies, more headlines, more ideas, more presence and momentum. Even a leader as self-confident as Badenoch has cause to be worried. What is she doing? Exactly what her critics on the right demand: attempting to appeal to ex-Conservatives who have been abstaining or defecting to Reform UK. This explains the 'culture war' assault on the independent judiciary, net zero, and human rights legislation (plus the tentative interventions on the burqa, sharia law and cousin marriage). Badenoch does point out the complexities, such as how the ECHR affects the Good Friday Agreement, and the need to take time to get things right this far away from a general election. Badenoch's line is that Labour and Reform both promise all things to all people, and she's not prepared to do that. Why are some Tories unhappy with Badenoch's leadership? Sources grumble that she doesn't work hard enough, gives an arrogant impression, and that she's not very good at Prime Minister's Questions. There's also frustration at the lack of eye-catching initiatives (as Tony Blair once called populist stuff), failure to take on Farage directly, and sheer fear of more heavy electoral losses to Reform. The smaller the Tories' representation at every tier of government, the lower their profile and relevance and the more they look like a dying party. Unlike Margaret Thatcher in opposition from 1975-79, Badenoch can't just rely on the failures of a Labour government. Crucially, the Tories now have a formidable and unprecedented challenge from the right that makes Badenoch's lack of urgency look fatal. All she can do is say she's getting better at the job of leader of the opposition, which is a tough gig. One hopeful move is that she's allowed shadow chancellor, Mel Stride, to denounce the Liz Truss era mini-Budget (without actually saying sorry). Is Badenoch popular in the party? She won the leadership election last autumn among the membership by a clear but not overwhelming margin over Robert Jenrick of 56.5 per cent to 43.5 per cent, but among MPs by only one vote over Jenrick and five ahead of third-placed James Cleverly (42, 41 and 37 MPs respectively. According to the regular Conservative Home poll of activists, Badenoch is now incredibly unpopular given her role. She stands on a net zero approval rating, way below top of the flops Jenrick (+63), Chris Philp (+39) and Stride (+34). What happens next? A possible tricky by-election in North East Somerset and Hanham, where ex-Labour MP Dan Norris was arrested and bailed on suspicion of rape, child sex offences, child abduction and misconduct in a public office and is currently sitting as an independent having been suspended from the party. He ousted Conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg at the general election, and normally this would become an easy Tory gain; but now the question is whether the Tories and Reform will fight each other, potentially letting Labour back in; or will they cooperate (formally or informally) to get Rees-Mogg back, whichever party he chooses to run for.
Wales Online
2 hours ago
- Wales Online
Welsh council leader 'concerned' about impact immigration plan could have on care
Welsh council leader 'concerned' about impact immigration plan could have on care Cllr Huw Thomas said the UK Government's plans to restrict oversees recruitment of care workers is "certainly a matter of concern" Cllr Huw Thomas said he is concerned about the UK Government's immigration plans (Image: Cardiff Council ) The Labour leader of Cardiff Council said he is concerned about UK Government immigration plans that could affect social care in the city. Cllr Huw Thomas spoke about plans to restrict oversees recruitment of care workers at a building topping out ceremony in Grangetown on Friday, June 6. The UK Government said its plan, which is part of the recently published immigration white paper, is aimed at stopping carers from oversees being subject to "shameful levels of abuse and exploitation". However, unions, care agencies and councils have come out in criticism of the move which they say will exacerbate the pressure the care sector is already under. Never miss a Cardiff story and sign up to our newsletter here. When asked how concerned he was about the plans, Cllr Thomas said: "I think it is certainly a matter of concern. "There are migrant workers in the care sector in Cardiff doing incredibly important work in very difficult circumstances. "We want to support them and as a council we are working with trade unions to support that work force. Article continues below "What that's meant over the last couple of years is that the marketplace for domiciliary care... is actually quite resilient in Cardiff. "I think if there would be changes... that are proposed to be introduced, that would weaken the resilience of the delivery of domiciliary care. The leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr Huw Thomas, was speaking at an event in Grangetown (Image: Ted Peskett ) "It is a concern. We are feeding that concern into Government for their consideration." A Cardiff Council official told councillors at a scrutiny committee meeting in February 2023 that the local authority was having issues with recruiting social care staff. An advert posted on the council's Facebook page in May 2025 said it currently has "vacancies in a number of care roles". In a statement published on May 11, the UK Government said some carers seeking work in the UK arrived to find themselves "saddled with debt", being treated unfairly and discovering the jobs they were promised didn't exist. The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) has also come out in criticism of the plans. WLGA spokesperson for Health and Social Care, Cllr Charlie McCoubrey, said: "Councils have long struggled to recruit social care workers, especially in rural and coastal areas. "The Welsh Government's Real Living Wage has helped, but international recruitment has been an important part of keeping services going. "These proposals risk shutting off a vital source of social care workers at the very moment local services are under extreme pressure. "Councils are working hard to support people to live with dignity and independence – but this depends on having a workforce in place. "Removing this option without a fully funded plan to grow the domestic workforce is a significant risk. "It will take time and investment to build a resilient, sustainable care workforce. "In the meantime, we fear the consequences will be felt by the people who rely most on support – older people, people with disabilities, and unpaid carers. Article continues below "Workforce planning must reflect the reality on the ground. "Local authorities are uniquely placed to understand the needs of their communities, and their insights must shape national decisions."
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
'We are the party of the union who stand up for Scots and want to fix our NHS and schools - NOT Reform,' says Scots Tory leader Findlay
After a bruising by-election result last Thursday, Russell Findlay faces a big week as he attempts to start the fightback for next year's Holyrood elections. The vote in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse showed the scale of the challenge for the Scottish Conservatives, with the party finishing fourth and picking up just six per cent of the vote - a lower vote share than the party even had in the constituency on its darkest night in 1997 when it was wiped off the electoral map north of the Border. The fact that Reform secured more than a quarter of the votes and finished narrowly behind Labour and the SNP worsened the blow.. But the former journalist is now preparing for one of his biggest set piece events since becoming Scottish Tory leader by 'playing Murrayfield' this weekend. He won't quite have the same audience that Oasis will command later in the summer, but the Scottish Conservative conference at the national rugby stadium will be his opportunity to respond to the twin threats of Nigel Farage 's insurgent Reform UK party and an SNP which has been in power for nearly two decades But the former journalist is now preparing for one of his biggest set piece events since becoming Scottish Tory leader by 'playing Murrayfield' this weekend. Mr Findlay, who become leader last September, acknowledges that his party was 'crowded out' in the by-election but insists that a focus on 'common sense' policies and fixing fundamental problems created by 'two decades of SNP misrule' can allow the Scottish Tories to bounce back and help remove John Swinney from office next year. Despite the SNP now being regarded as the Establishment in Scotland following 18 years in power and Reform benefiting from an anti-Establishment backlash, Mr Findlay insists that both are similar in their attempts to capitalise on the same brand of divisive nationalist politics. He said: 'Nigel Farage is just like Swinney and Sturgeon - he's a populist, he will agitate and he will seek to inflame differences between people. 'We've lived with the SNP for decades and we know their tactics, we know what they are up to: they try to pit Scot against Scot and this is what Farage is doing; he's trying to sow division.' Reflecting on the causes of the rise of Reform from nowhere to 26 per cent of the vote in last week's by-election, Mr Findlay accepts that it was partly down to many voters being 'still in no great mood to hear from our party' because 'there is a lot of disappointment with what we got wrong over our time in government' - and also cited frustration at the 'absolute chaos' of the early days of the Labour government. 'I think it has fed this sense that politics is broken, politicians are all the same, and people feel just completely scunnered and I completely get that', he said. 'I see Nigel Farage as a complete and utter chancer but I can see why people think that the parties - my party and other parties - have let them down. 'But a cold analysis of the facts show that we are the party that stands up for the Union, we are the party that stands up for hard-working Scots, we are the ones that want to fix Scots' broken education system and indeed the NHS, not Reform.' In a full throttle attack on the Reform leader, he said Mr Farage 'seems to be more friendly with Vladimir Putin than he is towards the sanctity of the United Kingdom'. 'You just have to look at the chaos engulfing that party to see that it really is a one-man ego trip,' he said. 'He is not remotely interested in Scotland. 'When his deputy (Richard Tice) turned up at a Glasgow chippy and couldn't even tell us the name of the two defectors from our party, I think that was indicative of the complete disinterest they have in Scotland. 'There are also candidates as we know at the general election who were pro-independence, there were candidates who were anti-monarchy. 'Even Nigel Farage can't work out what he is - one minute he's a free market conservative of sorts, the next minute he is a free-spending Corbynite. 'He is essentially the same as the SNP - they are both populists, they will both say anything to anyone and they will blame someone else for their own problems. It has worked for John Swinney for decades and that is what Nigel Farage is doing.' He also criticised the current push from Reform to consider whether there needs to be a ban on wearing the burqa, which engulfed the party in another major row and more infighting. Mr Findlay said: 'It really isn't a very conservative policy to start trying to tell people what they can and can't wear - I mean maybe Nigel Farage will try to ban the kilt next. 'I understand the many circumstances where face coverings are problematic, we've seen that in some of the demonstrations for example, but I think police already have the powers in place to deal with that. 'This call that his new MP (Sarah Pochin) made perhaps betrays the reality of some of the thinking within Reform. It is pretty illiberal to start dictating what you can and can't wear on the streets of Britain - we are a free country. 'It appears to have been policy made up on the hoof, it resulted in the party chairman exiting it seems, and then apparently coming back, but it is something that does not sit at all comfortably with me.' Mr Findlay said he remained largely silent as a race row erupted over Reform UK's advert claiming that Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar would 'prioritise the Pakistani community', saying he didn't want to do anything to 'amplify' its video message, but believes it highlighted Reform have 'nationalist, divisive and unpleasant individuals'. Despite the significant challenge from Reform, he still believes his party can perform well in key target constituencies and on the regional list across Scotland and says he is 'fully committed in 2026 to getting the SNP out and giving Scotland the change it needs'. He rejected claims from Reform defector Thomas Kerr that the Scottish Tories are no longer interested in the central belt, saying it is 'nonsense', and vowed to start winning back voters who have stopped supporting the party. He said: 'The worry I have is that Scotland might seesaw between one form of inefficient wasteful socialist government coloured yellow to one coloured red. We really can't afford to keep putting into power these high-tax parties who have no interest in aspiration and don't have the wherewithal to stand up to the vested interests in the trade unions, for example, whether on education, health and justice. 'We need to show the people of Scotland that there is an alternative way, it doesn't have to be like this, we don't have to accept this miserable mediocrity inflicted on Scotland by the SNP. 'So many people in Scotland are conservative with a small c - they like our policies, we just need to persuade them that putting their cross in the ballot box beside our name is in their best interests.' He also railed against the 'lanyard class' who have dominated Scottish politics, saying he wants to get Holyrood working for the public rather than the politicians. With pressure already growing on the party's leader Kemi Badenoch, he insisted he still has full confidence in her leadership as they both attempt to 'reset' the relationship with the public as part of a major rebuild. While some Tory leaders have at times stayed clear from Scotland during Holyrood election campaigns, Mr Findlay insists Ms Badenoch will 'play a part' even though he will be the 'main focus' leading the push for votes. In a warning shot to plotters at Westminster or Holyrood, he said: 'I think if anyone thinks that further internal plotting is in any way helpful to our party they need their heads examined. 'We need to unite. People are not interested in politicians' or political parties' internal grievances and egos and personalities. It's about putting your shoulder to the wheel and working together to help deliver the results that we need in Holyrood next year and indeed in the next general election.' He concedes that, with the election now less than a year away, a key challenge will be getting himself known - and persuading the public he is different to the other leaders. Until 2021, he was 'deliberately anonymous' as a journalist investigating organised crime, and in 2015 he had acid thrown in his face on the doorstep of his Glasgow home by a hired hitman carrying a knife, in an attack witnessed by his young daughter 'I'm not yet a household name,' he said, although he joked: 'I have been subject to some squirmingly awful BBC parodies so maybe I've reached a sufficient level of fame in the bubble to qualify for acknowledgement.' Although he would rather the focus was on what his party stands for and would rather levels of fame or recognition were not a factor, he accepts it is 'part of modern politics' - and will try to use his own unique selling point of having had a career outside of politics to differentiate him from the other leaders and appeal to those disgruntled voters who want change at Holyrood. Mr Findlay said: 'I'd like to think that me not being a career politician is perhaps a good thing because I can see things from the perspective of ordinary people who are sick and tired of the way Holyrood doesn't address their interests or doesn't seek to fix the problems in their lives.'
