The Welsh Parliament has faced criticism for passing a bill that offers financial assistance schemes to “promote diversity” in candidates.
The Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill, which was first introduced to the Senedd in October 2023, was passed in the Welsh Parliament last week.
Section 28 of the bill relates to financial assistance schemes to “promote diversity” among people running for elected office in Wales.
The bill grants Welsh ministers the power to “help candidates in a Welsh election” if they have “specified characteristics or specific circumstances” to “overcome barriers to their participation in the election connected to those characteristics or circumstances.”
But the Welsh government could not confirm which specified characteristics would qualify for financial assistance.
The bill grants Welsh ministers the power to “help candidates in a Welsh election”
PA
When pressed as to whether the scheme would exclude white men, a spokesperson said the government would set out proposals for “what these protected characteristics will be shortly and these will be developed and consulted upon widely.”
A think tank expert with UK government experience told this broadcaster the bill was an example of the Welsh government “taking taxpayer’s money and giving it to the left’s favourite groups.”
Among other measures, the bill will also start a process for the automatic registration of voters for Welsh government and local elections, which could see a further 400,000 people added to the electoral register.
The bill passed with 39 votes in favour versus 12 in opposition.
The Conservative group voted against the bill, bar Laura Anne Jones MS, who supported it.
The new law, which is expected to receive royal assent soon, comes as research from the official Senedd website showed how diverse the parliament was after the last election in 2021.
It found that 43% of Members elected to the Sixth Senedd are women, which is reportedly “a slight increase compared to the 2016 election, but lower than in the early days of devolution.”
It also showed that 5% of Senedd Members were from an ethnic minority background, against a wider 5.6% of the Welsh population being ethnic minorities.
Mick Antoniw, who was Counsel General for Wales before resigning this week, said in the Senedd at the most recent vote for the bill: “Diversity and inclusivity is a very important part of this bill, this bill takes us further in those particular areas than I think in any other previous legislation.
Mr Antoniw described the law as “radical, groundbreaking legislation.”
Fred de Fossard, director of parliamentary affairs at the Legatum Institute, told GB News: “When the Welsh government says it wants to create an ‘anti racist Wales’, this is what that means in practice: taking taxpayer’s money and giving it to the left’s favourite groups.
“Thanks to the Conservatives giving powers away to the devolved assemblies in 2017, we will unfortunately see more of this in the future.
“Left wing causes will be indulged, the union and the constitution will suffer, and ultimately the British taxpayer will foot the bill.”
The Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill aims to remove barriers to democratic engagement, and to create a system of electoral administration fit for the 21st century.
This includes creating a duty on the Welsh Ministers to put in place arrangements aimed at improving diversity within Senedd and local government democratic structures, and for individual schemes to be created and tailored to provide support for individuals from groups who are under-represented in Welsh democracy.
Financial assistance to individual candidates will only be available for the period from the submission of their candidacy to the returning officer and the election – which is around a month.
William Yarwood, media campaign manager of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Taxpayers will be appalled by such a divisive and likely costly policy.
"Elected candidates shouldn't be treated differently based on their characteristics, with this not only being an unfair burden on taxpayers, but also a violation of democratic principles.
"This preposterous policy should be chucked into the bin"
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “It’s vital that our elected bodies represent the diversity of people in Wales and this legislation will pave the way in tackling barriers to participation.
“We will set out proposals for what these protected characteristics will be shortly and these will be developed and consulted upon widely. All regulations will have to be agreed by the Senedd.
“We will play no part in determining any financial assistance to individual candidates.”