Ivor Richard

Lord Richard, a former Labour cabinet minister and Leader of the Lords, chaired the commission that reported in 2004 that the Assembly's corporate structure, with no legal separation between government and legislature, was confusing and should give way to primary law-making powers and a larger membership of 80. Much of it was enacted in the Government of Wales Act 2006, which separated the Welsh Government from the Assembly. The call for 80 members was ignored for two decades, until the Senedd grew to 96 in 2026.