Senedd members could soon face being given the boot for poor behaviour under new proposals. Politicians in the Senedd do not currently face the same system that MPs in Westminster do about removals and petitions, so there are calls to bring Cardiff Bay inline.
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00:00As it stands, there is no means of removing a Senedd member from their post in relation
00:06to poor behaviour, but that could soon be coming to an end with new proposals from the
00:10Senedd Standards Committee.
00:12In Westminster, MPs can be given what's called a recall petition if they are removed from
00:17the House of Commons for more than 10 days, meaning after their return, a local petition
00:21is given out in their constituency, and if it reaches 10%, a by-election will be called
00:26for the MP to re-run for their seat.
00:29Even Senedd members do not face the same level of re-election, there are calls to implement
00:33a similar plan which has yet been officially revealed.
00:36Earlier on this year, Rhys Sapp-Owen was banned from the Welsh Parliament for 42 days for
00:40inappropriate behaviour towards staff members on a night out, but did not face a by-election
00:45on his return, and continues to be an independent Senedd member after his removal by Plaid Cymru.
00:51Any new plans would not be put into place until the 2026 Senedd elections, when the
00:56Welsh Parliament will grow to 96 members.