The Big BBC Radio Wales Debate - How Often Should Welsh Voters Go To The Polls?

This morning I was invited on to BBC Radio Wales to represent the views of young people on whether the people of Wales should be voting in Welsh elections more frequently. I was invited onto the show to debate with Welsh university lecturer Dr Mike Reddy, who was of the opinion that people in Wales should be going to the voting polls every year.

As things stand when we vote in May, it will have been 5 years since we last voted, as opposed to the usual 4 years between elections. This time is an exceptional circumstance because if we had voted after 4 years, it would have clashed with the general elections that took place earlier on in May this year.

The show was presented this morning by Louise and Olly, who make a great team and asked some really engaging questions, that made for an interesting debate. My opinion on the matter was that 4 years is really the minimum amount of time that should pass between elections, because any less and firstly the politicians wouldn't have time to carry out the promises that they made whilst electioneering. And secondly because otherwise, too much time would be spent doing the said electioneering, rather than serving the people they represent.

However, Mike countered my opinion by saying that he thought that elections needed to be much more frequent in order to make Ministers more accountable for their actions. By the end of the show we decided on a compromise, that the time between votes could be set between the two time frames. The point of the debate was to discuss the press released recently by a Welsh Assembly Member (AM) suggesting polling times were too short. But I think we proved during the debate that logistically a longer time frame is just more realistic. If you'd like to decide for yourself by listening again, you can find it here