Research identifies STV lessons for Wales

Dr Jac Larner, a political scientist at Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre, has contributed to a new report for the Welsh Government on implementing a Single Transferable Vote system for local government elections.

Recent legislation enables Welsh local authorities to adopt the Single Transferable Vote (STV) model for elections if they wish, electing between three and six councillors per district. However, the research finds that differences in the way votes will be transferred could have a substantial effect on the proportionality of the system, with the research identifying the two most suitable methods for Wales.

The report, written alongside Daniel Devine (University of Oxford), Stuart Turnbull-Dugarte and Will Jennings (University of Southampton), was commissioned by the Welsh Government and adds to the evidence base to allow authorities to implement STV in Wales in the future.