Yes, it was a very good by-election. I enjoyed it very much but then I was not standing. I should declare a past interest in that when I fought the Meirionnydd seat in 1970, which was then taken over by my noble friend in the subsequent election, I was working for Mars in Slough and living in the Thames Valley. There are many similar cases where people who have had to leave Wales to seek work might want to return, whether to a non-political job or to stand for election. The danger is that by having a rule as suggested in the amendments of the noble Lord, Lord Hain, there could be widespread avoidance, with prospective candidates renting an address for the period of the election, with everyone knowing that the address is merely a scam to give the impression that they are highly integrated local people. The address on the nomination paper for election should be the one at which they are registered to vote and to pay tax. If that is outside Wales, so be it; the electors can take that into account. However, once they are elected, they would be in danger of not being paid their salary or expenses if they had submitted a fraudulent address. Remember, these days there is a need to note for council tax purposes whether one’s address is permanent or a second home.
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Implicit in all this is also the issue of the difference in treatment or in perception between constituency and list AMs. The issue of not living in Wales highlights a fundamental fault with the present system: the voter has no influence over the person elected on the regional list, only over the number of seats that go to the party. This anomaly should be sorted out by introducing an STV system of election; if that were done, every party would be under pressure to select candidates who live in the area which they aspire to represent. If the Bill becomes law, the Assembly will have the power to change the electoral system in this way, and I very much hope that it will do so.
Single cases make bad law, and I am hesitant to change our systems just to deal with one UKIP joker who has, like a bad penny, popped up in the Assembly with no intention whatever of integrating himself into the body politic of Wales. However, if the Assembly cannot sort this out for itself—that is by far the preferable course— amendments along the lines of my amendment or that in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Hain, or enabling powers to that end, are needed. I appeal to the Government to give serious consideration in responding to this short debate.