In Wales, legislators propose ban on lying in politics

The Labour-led Welsh government has committed to introduce “globally pioneering” legislation that would in effect make lying in politics there illegal. Members of the Senedd described it as a historic moment that would combat the “existential threat” that lying in politics poses to democracy. After a passionate and dramatic debate in the Welsh parliament on Tuesday evening, the government’s counsel general, Mick Antoniw, said the legislation would be introduced before the next Welsh elections in two years’ time. [ . . . ] The Plaid Cymru politician Adam Price, who has led the calls for lying by politicians to be outlawed, said: “What has been announced is truly historic, globally pioneering. We have a commitment from our government that our democracy will be the first in the world to introduce a general prohibition on deception by politicians. “We are at the beginning of a global movement. We are going to outlaw political lying.” Price said truth was at the heart of democracy, but there had been a collapse in trust in politicians. He said: “That is an existential threat. A democracy starts to break down if the electors can’t trust what the elected say.
Read the full article here: The Guardian