And Nothing But the Truth

Listen to Today's Edition:

The government of Wales said within the next two years it will introduce legislation that would make lying in politics illegal, a move described by Welsh politicians as “globally pioneering,” the Guardian reported.

The law would ban any politician found guilty of deception from running for election or becoming a member of the Senedd, Wales’ parliament. This would involve an “independent judicial process,” said Mick Antoniw, the executive’s chief adviser.

Antoniw said a bill would be introduced before 2026 when the next Senedd elections are due. In the meantime, parliamentarians and ministers will need to figure out the practicalities of the legislation.

The announcement came ahead of a planned vote on an amendment proposed by Plaid Cymru, a left-wing opposition party that advocates Welsh independence from the United Kingdom.

Plaid Cymru’s former leader Adam Price had championed a law that would have forced politicians and candidates to withdraw any false statement. Otherwise, lying politicians could have faced a four-year ban from the legislature.

Wales’ executive, led by the Labour Party, opposed the amendment, criticizing an absence of consultation with law enforcement. Some Senedd members argued the ban could “undermine our parliamentary privilege,” Sky News reported.

On Tuesday, Labour, facing a defeat as Price’s proposal had chances to pass nonetheless, struck a deal with the opposition to work towards a draft law, wrote BBC Wales.

Price welcomed the announcement, saying it was “truly historic, globally pioneering”, he added: We are at the beginning of a global movement …We are going to outlaw political lying.”

“Lying in politics has for too long been normalized,” Jennifer Nadel, co-director of the thinktank Compassion in Politics, told the Guardian. “Voters expect and deserve more and now they will have it.”