The Labour-led Welsh government has committed to introduce “globally pioneering” legislation that would in effect make lying in politics there ill

Welsh government commits to making lying in politics illegal

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2024-07-05 13:00:12

The Labour-led Welsh government has committed to introduce “globally pioneering” legislation that would in effect make lying in politics there illegal.

Members of the Senedd described it as a historic moment that would combat the “existential threat” that lying in politics poses to democracy.

After a passionate and dramatic debate in the Welsh parliament on Tuesday evening, the government’s counsel general, Mick Antoniw, said the legislation would be introduced before the next Welsh elections in two years’ time.

He said: “The Welsh government will bring forward legislation before 2026 for the disqualification of members and candidates found guilty of deliberate deception through an independent judicial process.”

Antoniw said the practical details of how a law to tackle lying would work would need to be worked out and he called for cross-party cooperation.

The Plaid Cymru politician Adam Price, who has led the calls for lying by politicians to be outlawed, said: “What has been announced is truly historic, globally pioneering. We have a commitment from our government that our democracy will be the first in the world to introduce a general prohibition on deception by politicians.