Unpacking diversity: Barriers and incentives to standing for election to the National Assembly for Wales

Awan-Scully, Roger ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8058-7846, Stirbu, Diana, Pritchard, Huw ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5244-9681, Larner, Jac ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5171-8851 and Davies, Nye 2018. Unpacking diversity: Barriers and incentives to standing for election to the National Assembly for Wales. Cardiff: Wales Governance Centre. Available at: http://sites.cardiff.ac.uk/wgc/files/2018/07/REPOR...

Preview

PDF - Published Version Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

This report was commissioned by the Remuneration Board of the National Assembly for Wales to look at barriers and incentives for people who have been deterred from standing to the National Assembly and to address the question of whether ‘a diverse range of persons with the appropriate skills and interest are in practice deterred from standing for election to the National Assembly by any aspect of the remuneration package (salary, pension, child care, and office and staffing allowances) and what may provide the incentives to do so’. The report sets out different forms of socialisation into politics from three different groups of people; those who are party politically active, local councillors, and newcomers to formal politics. Barriers for moving from being eligible to an aspirant candidate partly depended on the pathway, with those on a party-political pathway at a distinct advantage in terms of support, information, and knowledge of processes. The research, however, identifies structural, institutional, individual, political, and cultural barriers for candidates in all three pathways. It highlights structural barriers in terms of the cost, time, and accessibility to standing, which are particular deterrents for underrepresented groups. Cultural, structural, and political factors, in terms of candidate selection and the electoral system and process were also seen as barriers to diverse representation. Wider contemporary political and cultural factors including a climate of toxicity in politics and the lack of understanding of the value of diversity, were raised as societal barriers.

Item Type:	Monograph (UNSPECIFIED)
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Law
Subjects:	J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General) J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) > JN101 Great Britain
Publisher:	Wales Governance Centre
Funders:	The Remuneration Board of the National Assembly for Wales
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	12 July 2018
Last Modified:	02 Mar 2024 02:25
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/113128

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item