The Electoral Reform Society Cymru (ERS) is disappointed that Gwynedd Council has fallen one vote short of changing the voting system.

The vote, on Thursday, 24 October, could have seen the current system move to the Single Transferable Vote (STV), but Gwynedd councillors voted 45 to 22 with one abstention. This came after 72.2 per cent of respondents backed the change in a consultation over the summer.

As only 45 councillors voted in favour, the change was just one vote short of the two-thirds majority required by the Local Government and Elections Act (Wales) 2021.

Mat Mathias, Campaigns and Projects Officer for the ERS Cymru, said: “What we have seen today is the clear will of the people of Gwynedd and the majority of councillors to have a fairer local democracy denied on a technicality.

“At the last election, over 30,000 people in the county were effectively denied a vote as the current unfair First Past the Post voting system meant over 40 per cent of the wards had only one candidate standing in them.

“So, it is unsurprising that more than 70 per cent of residents backed moving to the fairer Single Transferable Vote (STV) system in the council consultation, which would mean come polling day every vote in Gwynedd would count and every voice would be heard. This was also clearly recognised by Gwynedd’s councillors, 65 per cent of whom voted today to move to STV.“It is deeply disappointing that the clear desire for a fairer democracy, expressed by the people of Gwynedd and a clear majority of their councillors, has been blocked.”