Wales becomes first place in the world to ban politicians from lying

This is a world first. On July 2, 2024, the Labor-led Welsh Government committed to implementing a law criminalizing lying in politics. This will make it possible to exclude, in the event of proven lying, members of the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament, and to disqualify candidates from future elections.

After a debate in the Welsh Parliament described as "passionate and dramatic" by The Guardian , the government's general advisor Mick Antoniw announced that this new law would be introduced by the next legislative elections scheduled for 2026 in the country.

“The Welsh Government will introduce legislation before 2026 for the disqualification of members and candidates found guilty of deliberate deception,” Mick Antoniw said.

Adam Price (photo), leader of the centre-left independence party Plaid Cymru, has campaigned for years to ban lying in politics. He is the one who initiated the amendment: “That is an existential threat. A democracy starts to break down if the electors can’t trust what the elected say,” he said.

After Parliament's vote in favor of banning lying in politics, Adam Price hailed a "historic" and "global pioneering" moment. He believes that this new legislation could lead to a domino effect in the rest of the world: “We are at the beginning of a global movement. We are going to outlaw political lying,” he said.

During the debate, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, was directly targeted by Lee Waters, Labor MP: "Boris Johnson lied his way to Downing Street and lied his way out again. Politics in this country has become darker. The public needs to know they can trust what is being said. Lying cannot become the norm."

One of the major goals of this legislation is to regain voter confidence. Indeed, according to the Ipsos barometer, the confidence of British citizens in their political leaders has never been so low since the first wave of the survey, dating from 1983.

Thus, in 2024, only 9% of British people trust politicians, according to the Ipsos survey, compared to 12% in 2022. An even lower figure in certain subcategories: only 3% of Londoners and 2% of 25-34 year olds. years consider politicians to be sincere.

“Public confidence in politicians is at an all-time low,” confirms Jennifer Nadel, co-director of the think tank Compassion in Politics. Nadel continued, “This move is the beginning of a political reset. Voters want honesty and this means that Wales will become the first country to insist that politicians and candidates are obliged by law to tell the truth."

Concretely, the Welsh government has not explained how its new law will be applied. However, adviser Mick Antoniw clarified that the exclusion of Senedd members, and candidates in future elections, found guilty of lying, would be done "as part of an independent judicial process".

"This measure will ensure that politicians are held to the same standards as lawyers and doctors who already have enforceable truth-telling obligations. This seems to me to be long overdue," explained the lawyer Sam Fowles, who advised Adam Price.

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