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A NEW political party has now been formed in Y Senedd.
The Independence Alliance for Reform, consisting of three AM’s was announced last week.
The acronym – IAR – just happens to be the same as the Welsh word for ‘hen’, so we have now reached a farcical situation where a hen party has descended upon the Senedd.
The members, David Rowlands, Mandy Jones and Caroline Jones were originally elected for UKIP in 2016.
They then moved on to join the Brexit Party, and now they are reinventing themselves again as IAR in time for the election next year.
The three have changed their parties twice without any mandate from the voters who originally elected them in 2016.
‘Like hens on the farmyard, these three will be scrabbling about for any morsels they can get in the form of your votes next year’ said a Spokesperson for GWLAD.
‘It makes an absolute mockery of democracy that they can do this without calling a by-election and getting a fresh mandate from the voters for their decision’.
But perhaps the Senedd itself must bear a share of responsibility for this situation which brings the institution itself into such disrepute.
When passing legislation to confirm the name of the new institution in 2018, they failed to take the opportunity to pass a clause to forbid AM’s from setting up new parties without consulting with their electorate.
It’s obvious that the three AM’s have their eyes keenly trained on a certain Nigel Farage, who is widely expected to relaunch the Brexit Party under the name of ‘Reform’ in due course.
Thus hoping to take advantage of Farage’s notoriety and media presence, for their own benefit here in Wales next year.
As we have argued ourselves as a party, there is a very strong case for wholesale reform of the Senedd and its work. And since we share with them a desire to respect the Brexit referendum result, and to reform rather than abolish the Senedd, we may even find common cause with them at some point.
But for now, this cynical manoeuvre by IAR just leaves a very bad taste in the mouth.