Madam,

In a recent issue of the Cambrian News, a person wrote in bemoaning the lack of a by-election for the Mid and West Wales electoral region following the resignation of Simon Thomas as the Plaid Cymru Assembly Member for the region.

As someone who was a member of the ‘Yes’ campaign in both 1997 and 2011, I would like to explain to them, as simply as I can, that a regional by-election would not be possible, because the rules say so.

This is not the first resignation of a regional member in this electoral area (and I dare say it will not be the last).

Indeed the first one was perhaps the most famous resignation of the Assembly, that of Alun Michael (now the Labour Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales) who back in 1999 was elected as the sole Labour regional member, allowing himself to be duly nominated by Labour as their candidate for First Minister.

Around a year later, he resigned as First Minister and shortly after that resigned from the Assembly (and if my memory is correct was replaced by Cherry Short).

Since then we have had a large number of regional vacancies through resignations (such as Christine Humphreys from North Wales after being diagnosed with an illness) and deaths (such as Brynle Williams also from North Wales) and yet in all of these instances the rules, laid down by the Wales Act and approved by a majority of 6,000 voters in 1997, were followed, namely the next person on that regional list for the party whose member had stood down or died was duly elected.

However, there has been an instance where that was not possible and that happened in Scotland when Margot MacDonald (formerly of the SNP, then elected as an Independent for the Lothian region) died in 2014.

As the sole nominee on that regional list there was debate about what should happen, with some people stating that the next sole Independent should be elected in her stead. However the rules were very clear, if a list had no more nominees then that seat would remain vacant until the next election.

Therefore, in answer to that letter, which would you prefer? Another member from the party whose member has stood down or died, or having one less regional member until the next election?

Yours etc,

Harry Hayfield, Llanrhystud.

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