Wales is aiming to pass a law which would ban politicians from lying during Welsh elections.
The bill, proposed by Wales’ Labour-run government, passed its first legislative hurdle in the Senedd last Tuesday (January 12).
The law would make it a criminal offence for politicians to make a false or misleading statement of fact to help an election candidate.
A statement from Welsh Labour said the legislation “sets out to build stronger foundations for Welsh democracy,” with supporters saying it is required to rebuild trust and confidence in government and politics.
However, there are concerns about how it would be enforced or what penalties would be given, whilst some Senedd members have raised fears it could limit free speech.
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At the moment, the bill does not specify what would count as a false statement, something Senedd members (MS) have said needs to change in order for it to have any chance of getting enough support.
This isn’t the first time the Welsh parliament has tried to introduce such a law. A similar bill was almost passed in 2024 against the government’s wishes.
After this, the Welsh government promised a ban on politicians lying would be brought in before the 2026 Senedd elections.
However, the BBC reports that a ban will not be ready before the upcoming Welsh elections and would not come into force until the 2030 election at the earliest.
The committee set up to scrutinise the bill has criticised it for not defining what would constitute a “false or misleading” statement or how the law would be enforced and to to whom.
If the bill is passed, Welsh ministers would then be required to create a criminal offence only after it becomes law.
The committee has raised concerns about the proposed law, saying that “a power to limit free speech before or during an election with so few parameters as to the scope of any prohibition would be extraordinary as drafted”.
Jane Dodds, a Liberal Democrat MS, said the committee had identified “serious concerns.” However, she was in favour of a ban on lying being implemented, urging her Senedd colleagues to make changes to the bill so it could come into effect before the next election in May.
“Lying flourishes in politics because we can get away with it,” she said, “because we face no real consequences.”
Meanwhile, Labour MS Alun Davies raised concerns about the bill being “rushed through in order to make people feel good about themselves whilst not addressing the fundamental issues that this society has to face.”