Ex-Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price, a leading proponent, says credibility gap in politics has become ‘gaping chasm’.
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"How do we restore trust in our politicians?" is a question we grapple with a lot at the campaign for Compassion in Politics, so it was great for our ambassador Anya Sizer to join this discussion with our colleagues at Best for Britain at the start of this week.
The constant lies in politics has seriously eroded trust in politics. Polling that we've commissioned shows that 2 in 3 do not trust what politicians say - and that trust in politicians is falling. That creates a vacuum which even more extreme voices are only too happy to fill.
Our democracy urgently needs us to restore trust in our politics. That’s why, with your support, we are campaigning to introduce legislation to stop politicians deliberately deceiving the public. Our parliamentary supporter, MP Liz Saville Roberts has already proposed a bill in Westminster which would End the Lies but sadly without government backing it couldn’t succeed.
Now politicians in Wales will get to vote on a similar measure which would ban politicians from intentionally lying outright. If it passes the law would make Wales the first parliament in the world to make lying by politicians a criminal offence.
What’s more the measure has the support of all four political parties in the Welsh Senedd. Conservative, Labour and the Welsh Lib Dems have all said they back the change to the law which has been put forward by Plaid Cymru’s Adam Price.
This is big news. It’s the first time any parliament in the world has debated a measure like this. If Welsh politicians vote for it to become law it will set an example that other governments will follow.
We have the power to change our politics for good. We are so close and we have to keep the pressure on politicians to act. Together we can change the rules so that all politicians act with integrity, honesty, and respect.