Plans for gender quotas in Welsh parliament scrapped

Published

9 months ago

September 17, 2024

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Plans to introduce gender quotas in the Welsh parliament have been scrapped.

It was originally intended to introduce the quotas for the next Senedd elections in May 2026, but this was delayed to 2030 in July.

But in a written statement on Monday evening, Trefnydd (leader of the house) Jane Hutt confirmed the plans had been shelved.

Concerns had been raised that the proposed legislation could be subject to legal challenge.

A cross-party group of Senedd members said it needed certainty “beyond doubt” that members had the authority to pass the bill.

The plans had been separated from the expansion of the Senedd, which will see the number of parliament members increase by more than 50% from 60 to 96.

A motion to remove the Senedd Cymru (Electoral Candidate Lists) Bill from consideration will be debated and voted on next week.

Later on Tuesday, Eluned Morgan, who became first minister of Wales in August, will answer questions from Senedd members for the first time in her new role.

She is expected to outline her plans for government after spending the summer travelling across Wales as part of a “listening” exercise.

The government said it remained “committed to a gender balanced Senedd” and would instead explore other ways of ensuring gender parity.

“[We] have reflected over the summer and decided the best way we can achieve practical change for the 2026 Senedd election is to address this issue in a different way,” Ms Hutt said.

She added that the bill’s withdrawal did not prevent individual parties from considering “what action they can implement” to select a diverse range of candidates.

The Welsh Conservatives – the largest opposition group in the Senedd – said the decision was “inevitable”.

They said they favoured a selection process “based on merit and by the voters”.

Crypto lobby wants software dev protections added to crypto bill

Published

4 hours ago

June 6, 2025

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Crypto lobby wants software dev protections added to crypto bill

A group of crypto advocacy groups have urged lawmakers to include a bill protecting software devs from being labelled as money transmitters included in a crypto market structure bill.

Scottish Labour win Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election as SNP suffer shock defeat

Published

8 hours ago

June 6, 2025

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Scottish Labour win Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election as SNP suffer shock defeat

Scottish Labour’s Davy Russell has won the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election.

Mr Russell took top spot with 8,559 votes. The SNP placed second with 7,957 votes, with Reform UK closely taking third with 7,088 votes.

The new MSP said he was “proud” to have been elected, adding: “I said in this campaign that I will put this community, our community first.

“I will work every single day to do that.”

The by-election was called following the death of SNP MSP Christina McKelvie.

The Scottish government minister died in March at the age of 57, having last year taken medical leave to undergo treatment for secondary breast cancer.

South Lanarkshire councillor Katy Loudon had hoped to retain the Holyrood seat for the SNP, given her party’s heavy losses to Labour at last year’s UK general election.

First Minister John Swinney congratulated Mr Russell following the result.

In a post on X, the SNP leader said Ms Loudon had “fought a superb SNP campaign”.

He added: “We have made progress since the election last year but not enough. We still have work to do and we will do it.”

All eyes were also on Reform UK and whether it would enjoy a “tartan bounce” in light of the party’s recent slew of local election wins in England.

With Reform UK never having won an election in Scotland, party deputy leader Richard Tice said candidate Ross Lambie coming in third was a “massive boost for us”.

He added: “It’s a fantastic result, just a few hundred votes away from the SNP, nobody predicted that.

“I think that sets us up with excitement and momentum for the next 11 months into the Holyrood elections.”

Mr Russell said the constituents had voted to “take a new direction” with his party.

He added: “Like the people here in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, and right across Scotland, we all feel we have been let down by the SNP.

“They’ve broken our NHS, wasted our money, and after nearly two decades they don’t deserve another chance.”

Mr Russell said the community had also “sent a message” to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage “and his mob tonight”.

He added: “The poison of Reform isn’t us, it isn’t Scotland, and we don’t want your division here.

“Reform have no real answers to the issues we face, and they can’t beat the SNP here or replace them across Scotland.”

Mr Russell said his party was ready to “fix” the NHS and “end the SNP’s addiction to wasting your money”.

He added: “The road to a new direction for Scotland in 2026 – with Anas Sarwar as first minister and a Scottish Labour government – begins right here. So, let’s go and win it together.”

Ten candidates went head-to-head in the Holyrood by-election:

• Collette Bradley, Scottish Socialist Party – 278 votes
• Andy Brady, Scottish Family Party – 219 votes
• Ross Lambie, Reform UK – 7,088 votes
• Katy Loudon, Scottish National Party (SNP) – 7,957 votes
• Janice MacKay, UK Independence Party (UKIP) – 50 votes
• Ann McGuinness, Scottish Green Party – 695 votes
• Aisha Mir, Scottish Liberal Democrats – 533 votes
• Richard Nelson, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party – 1,621 votes
• Davy Russell, Scottish Labour Party – 8,559 votes
• Marc Wilkinson, Independent – 109 votes

The votes were verified and manually counted at South Lanarkshire Council headquarters in Hamilton.

Campaigning became heated in the run up to the by-election, with Reform UK accused of running a “racist” ad on Facebook against Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.

Reform leader Mr Farage continued to double down, accusing his rival of “sectarian politics”.

In response, the Scottish Labour MSP branded Mr Farage a “poisonous little man” and accused him of running a “campaign of dirt and smear”.

First Minister Mr Swinney had earlier warned it was a “two-horse race” between the SNP and Reform UK, urging voters to “defeat the gutter politics” of Mr Farage.

With less than a year to go before the Scottish parliament election, the result potentially offers a snapshot of how the political landscape north of the border could look in 2026.

Mr Sarwar said: “I think people need to change the script, because we’ve proven the pollsters wrong.

“We’ve proven the commentators wrong, we’ve proven the bookies wrong. We’ve proven John Swinney wrong and so many others wrong too.”