tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post3533637020482319628..comments2024-03-26T09:38:39.888+00:00Comments on Borthlas: Cutting the apron stringsJohn Dixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-89149530305967779522016-12-04T00:15:51.325+00:002016-12-04T00:15:51.325+00:00What I was driving at is that there has been no en...What I was driving at is that there has been no end of navel gazing and earnest debates around the Sennedd over whether 60 is the optimum number of AMs and if so which electoral system to empoly going on ever since 1997 when Davies, Livsey and Wigley made their deal. The only new element is that the HoC constituencies which the Assembly's 40 FPTP seats presently mirror are now (probably) changing for the next GE and reducing in number. The arguments over numbers to my mind bear a disturbing resemblence to the project management delusion that invariably the more people you put onto a team the more speedily they'll get the job done.<br /><br />Interestingly ex Labour SPAD & PCC candidate David Taylor has also weighed in and no doubt speaks for many in Welsh Labour beyond Cardiff Bay: http://heatst.com/world/this-is-no-time-to-bloat-welsh-politics-even-more/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-50676821290213753782016-12-03T09:00:13.154+00:002016-12-03T09:00:13.154+00:00I don't follow your logic there at all. The a...I don't follow your logic there at all. The argument for increasing the number from 60 has nothing to do with coterminosity per se, nor does it flow from the chnages to Westminster seats. It flows from the question as to whether 60 members is enough to provide both an executive and proper backbench scrutiny. I accept that not everyone agrees that more are needed, but that argument really has nothing to do with boundaries or what happens elsewhere.John Dixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-30583868099438708682016-12-02T20:28:14.138+00:002016-12-02T20:28:14.138+00:00Well if the desirability of coterminousity (horrid...Well if the desirability of coterminousity (horrid word) is not accepted there is no argument for altering the current 40/20 AMS status quo in light of the Commons changes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-78408822460334418552016-12-02T14:49:00.632+00:002016-12-02T14:49:00.632+00:00I quite like the idea of linking constituencies to...I quite like the idea of linking constituencies to local authorities (or multiples thereof bearing in mind that some are so small that they might end up with fewer than 3 members which endangers the relevance of STV), but I'm not entirely convinced that they need to be coterminous with anything else. Part of the point that I was making is that coterminosity hasn't been justified.John Dixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-4825935900591440432016-12-02T14:31:55.107+00:002016-12-02T14:31:55.107+00:00Coterminosity on the basis of Westminster boundari...Coterminosity on the basis of Westminster boundaries will probably not provide the stability sought as population/electorate demographic by 2020 churn will have put many of the 29 Welsh HoC seats beyond the legally permissible variance. These variances will only widen if the 2020 Review is postponed for partisan political reasons leading to still more radical overhaul sometime in the next decade or so.<br />If stability is the aim then why not opt for coterminousity with the 22 local council areas? For better or worse we seem very unlikely to reach agreement on altering these in the present generation. The general public may not love their local councils, but at least almost all can tell you which one they live in! The optimal number of AMs (whatever that might be) could be set in stone with the precise representation from each LA constituency determined as per the US house of representatives or european parliament on the basis of population with Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr, Ynys Mon et al each returning about a sixth of the number of AMs as Cardiff. <br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Welsh_principal_areas_by_populationAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com