Written evidence from Chris Ruane MP
I am writing about the issue of dual candidacy.
I am aware that the Welsh Affairs Committee is holding an Inquiry
into Better Governance for Wales. I understand that one of the
issues you will be looking at is dual candidacy. This is an issue
that concerns many MPs I believe that this is a cross-Party issue—and
I would like to submit the following evidence to the Committee.
"I am sure that many in Wales will welcome
the removal of the absurd dual candidacy opportunity".
Lord Carlile of Berriew,
Former Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Hansard,
15 June 2005.
"The present arrangements are really pretty
indefensible".
Lord Crickhowell, Former
Secretary of State for Wales, Hansard, 15 June 2005.
"The proposed voting system quite correctly
takes on board the Richard commission critique. There is no question
that it is a "duff" system as regards first-pass-the-post
and regional members."
Lord Livsey, Liberal Democrat
Spokesman on Welsh Affairs, Hansard, 15 June 2005.
"The system as operated . . . has led to
a confusing and expensive proliferation of `parliamentary' offices
throughout the country. In at least one town there are four. .
.They have become a thinly disguised subsidy from the taxpayer
for the local party machines . . . In my view they are a serious
waste of public money."
Sir David Steel, Former Presiding
Officer, Scottish Parliament,
Lecture, Edinburgh Book Festival, 18
August 2003.
"Quite the most distasteful and irritating
part of my job as Presiding Officer was dealing with complaints
against list Members' behaviour from constituency MSPs, Westminster
MPs and local authorities . . . I could not understand at first
why we had such problems, until it dawned on me that what some
were determined to do was misuse their position to run a permanent
4-year campaign as candidate for a particular constituency. In
most parliaments you do not have Members sitting in the same chamber
or in committees who are going to be election opponents, and it
does not make for a good working atmosphere."
Sir David Steel, Former Presiding
Officer, Scottish Parliament,
Lecture, Edinburgh Book Festival, 18
August 2003.
"The list system creates two different
kinds of member—constituency and list. The constituency
members feel that they carry the burden of the work involved in
helping individual constitiuents and local groups with their problems.
They complain that the list members either swan around cherry-picking
some local issues or camp in their constituency, posing as an
alternative constituency member."
Donald Gorrie, Liberal Democrat
MSP, Evidence to the Arbuthnott Commission.
"Problems do arise especially where some
list members promote themselves as `shadow members' for individual
constituencies, often those they fought unsuccessfully in the
first-past-the-post section of the election. Voters are often
surprised that candidates soundly beaten in the constituency votes
are then elected on the list—a reward for failure."
Dr Derek Barrie, Chief of
Staff, Scottish Liberal Democrats, Evidence to the Arbuthnott
Commission.
THE CASE
AGAINST STV
"The more radical alternative of abandoning
AMS seems unlikely to solve the perceived problems with the current
system. In particular a move to STV for the Parliament, whilst
putting all members on an equal footing, would almost certainly
also greatly increase competition over local work. If a proportional
system is to be maintained for the Parliament, AMS thus remains
the least problematic option."
Dr Jonathan Bradbury and
Dr Meg Russell, University of Wales, Swansea/Constitution Unit,
Local Work of Scottish MPs and MSPs, May
2005.
"With respect to local work . . . the problems
generated by STV seem greater than the problems that it might
seek to solve."
Dr Jonathan Bradbury and
Dr Meg Russell, University of Wales, Swansea/Constitution Unit,
Local Work of Scottish MPs and MSPs, May
2005.
ACADEMIC SUPPORT
FOR BANNING
DUAL CANDIDACY
"A bar on members standing for list and
constituency seats simultaneously in the Parliament is a . . .
serious option and could be kept under review."
Dr Jonathan Bradbury and
Dr Meg Russell, University of Wales, Swansea/Constitution Unit,
Local Work of Scottish MPs and MSPs, May
2005.
"Disallowing dual candidacy should not
be viewed per se as a bizarre idea. In New Zealand, it was considered
in the early 1990s ahead of AMS being introduced. In New Brunswick
in Canada, current electoral reform proposals do rule out dual
candidacy for the reason that both fellow representatives and
constituents will consider it unfair that a member judged unpopular
and voted out by constituents might still be elected as a list
member at the behest of party."
Dr Jonathan Bradbury and
Dr Meg Russell, University of Wales, Swansea/Constitution Unit,
Local Work of Scottish MPs and MSPs, May
2005.
"List MSP organisation of local representative
work is frequently on a sub-region wide basis. This does sometimes
involve a strong and extensive focus on a single constituency."
Dr Jonathan Bradbury and
Dr Meg Russell, University of Wales, Swansea/Constitution Unit,
Local Work of Scottish MPs and MSPs, May
2005.
"Particularly given the distribution of
seats under AMS in Scotland, there are clearly political interests
for list members in offering local representation, and in targeting
particular parts of the region where electoral support is likely
to be greatest."
Dr Jonathan Bradbury and
Dr Meg Russell, University of Wales, Swansea/Constitution Unit,
Local Work of Scottish MPs and MSPs, May
2005.
LIMITATIONS OF
GUIDANCE
"The guidance could be viewed as an irritant,
but where list members wanted to be particularly active at the
local level and by no means all of them did it was easily met
or ignored without constraining their intentions, particularly
in the context of targeting a specific seat."
Dr Jonathan Bradbury and
Dr Meg Russell, University of Wales, Swansea/Constitution Unit,
Local Work of Scottish MPs and MSPs, May
2005.
QUOTES FROM
THE LEANNE
WOOD MEMO,
AUGUST 2003
"Deciding against casework as the main
priority for regional AMs could mean the freeing up of staff resources
. . . Could the AM employ someone for 2-3 days a week with the
remaining time used by the party (locally or centrally) or another
elected representative".
"Each regional AM has an office budget
and a staff budget of some considerable size. Consideration should
be given to the location of their office—where would it
be best for the region? Are there any target seats . . . within
the region? If so, the office coul".
"As a constituency AM for the Rhondda,
Geraint Davies dealt with 2,500 cases over his four-year term.
A very small proportion of those people indicated that they would
be voting Plaid Cymru in telephone canvassing prior to the election.
This begs the question".
"We need to be thinking much more creatively
as to how we better use staff budgets for furthering the aims
of the party."
"[Regional AMs] need not be constrained
by constituency casework and events and can be more choosy about
their engagements, only attending events which further the party's
cause."
"On receipt of every invitation, ask `How
can my attendance at this event further the aims of Plaid Cymru?'
If the answer is `very little' or `not at all', then a pro
forma letter of decline should be in order."
INTERNATIONAL QUOTES
"The Commission recommends that candidates
not be able to present themselves in both a single member constituency
and on a party list for the same election. The Commission heard
that in some jurisdictions where candidates are able to run simultaneously
on both ballots, voters are displeased with the case where a candidate
is not successful in a single member constituency, but is elected
anyway by virtue of being placed on the top of a party's list.
This is a particularly salient issue if a closed list is adopted.
The Commission is of the view that if a candidate chooses to run
in a single member constituency, the voters in that constituency
should determine whether that candidate is elected, and that there
should be no back door to the legislature."
New Brunswick Commission
on Legislative Democracy
"The majority . . . believed that candidates
for Parliament should stand on either the list, or for an electorate,
but not both. The principal reason for this was a sense of frustration
amongst voters who, after voting out an unpopular electorate MP,
saw that candidate returned to Parliament via. the list."
New Zealand MMP Review Committee,
2003.
"There was considerable general suspicion
apparent in the qualitative research about list MPs' accountability
and workload. Respondents during the qualitative research often
described list MPs as `unelected'. One key criticism was that
it was possible for MPs to be defeated in electorate contests
but return to the House through their position on the list. 61%
agreed and 15% disagreed that `list MPs are not as accountable
to voters as electorate MPs'."
"MMP: A Study of Public
Attitudes", New Zealand MMP Review Committee, 2003.
"New Zealand's dual candidacy list MPs
who lose their ridings [constituencies] but are elected anyway
suffer particular disdain. Many New Zealanders continue to resent
their presence in Parliament, still more so in cabinet."
Howard Cody, Electoral
Reform Proposals in Quebec, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick,
Canadian Parliamentary Review.
"Typically, party elites favour this form
of double inclusion, since it maximizes the chances for election
of `star' candidates: if they fail to win in the constituency
race, they can hedge their bets by securing a high ranking on
the party's regional or provincial list. Some observers have criticized
this favourable treatment of candidates who fail to win a constituency
seat, arguing that it allows second-rank candidates to gain entry
to the legislature through the back door."
"Voting Counts: Electoral
Reform for Canada", Law Commission of Canada, 2004.
31 October 2005
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