The National Assembly for Wales.....

Consists of 60 Assembly Members (AMs) elected every four years via an Additional Member System (AMS). There are thus two types of AMs: 40 elected in constituencies via First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) and 20 elected via regional lists.

In many ways, devolution has proved a positive experience. However, it has also raised new concerns, such as the comparative status of the two types of AM.

The Commission on the Powers and Electoral Arrangements of the National Assembly for Wales, known as the Richard Commission after its Chair, Lord Richard, was appointed in July 2002, to examine the experiences of the newly-devolved institution and make recommendations where necessary regarding the size and functioning of the National Assembly.

When the Richard Commission reported on 31st March 2004, it made two important proposals. Firstly, that the number of AMs should be increased from 60 to 80, in order to deal with an increase in workload and responsibilities. Secondly, that the enlarged Assembly should be elected by the Single Transferable Vote (STV).

The Commission recommended that STV be used in constituencies electing between four and six AMs with three members being elected in exceptional cases in some areas. They confirmed that the size and boundaries would be a matter for the Electoral Commission.

However, the Welsh Labour Party did not match the Richard Commission's preference for STV. In September 2004, First Minister Rhodri Morgan tabled a motion before the Assembly rejecting the case for STV. In addition, he introduced a proposal to correct the 'Clywd West question', referring to the ability of losing candidates in constituency contests to win election to the Assembly via one of the regional lists. In Clwyd West, four of the candidates standing for the constituency in the 2003 Assembly elections were eventually elected.

This proposal was taken further by Labour's 2005 White Paper, " Better Governance for Wales " (PDF). The paper re-affirmed the Labour Party's rejection of STV and its commitment to ban 'dual candidacy', i.e. standing for election both in a constituency and on a regional list. The White Paper stated:

"The Richard Commission recommended that the number of Assembly Members should be increased from 60 to 80, and that they should be elected through the Single Transferable Vote system, with all Assembly Members being elected from multi-member constituencies. The Government does not agree that this would be the right way forward; rather, it is proposed to retain the current system but to amend it to address issues that have emerged in the course of two sets of Assembly elections in 1999 and 2003 under the AMS system."

The CAER continues to argue, in agreement with ERS's response to the White Paper, for the introduction of STV in line with the Richard Commission's findings.

The work of the Richard Commission followed in the footsteps of the Commission on Local Government Electoral Arrangements in Wales, chaired by Professor Eric Sunderland. The Commission reported in July 2002, and, in line with the submission of the Electoral Reform Society, recommended STV as the best system for local government in Wales.

However, following the 2003 Assembly elections, the Labour Party was no longer reliant on Liberal Democrat support. As a result, the Labour Welsh Assembly Government announced that it would not be pursuing the Sunderland Commission's recommendation. Whilst recognising that the current state of the parties makes any immediate progress unlikely, the Electoral Reform Society continues to call for change to a fairer voting system both at Assembly and local level.