In the coming Senedd elections, Welsh voters will have half the number of votes as in previous elections, but over 50% more politicians elected to Cardiff Bay. The new larger multi-member constituencies and closed party lists are meant to increase proportionality and increase engagement, as in theory every person’s vote matters. I’m personally not so sure. Instead of choosing a named individual to represent a local area, voters will primarily be selecting a party, with candidates elected according to lists determined by those parties in advance. Each of the new 16 super constituencies will have 6 representatives each.

Representative democracy has, at its heart, a relationship between the voter and the elected representative. When I go into the voting booth, I want to vote for a person, not a Party. My colleague James Mildered recently wrote about how, in the last election, he voted for a Christian candidate who was a member of a Party he would not normally vote for. My fear is that the new Welsh electoral system will make the relationship between elector and elected more distant and more opaque.

In short, I believe these reforms risk making politics more transactional and less relational.

For Christians, this matters. Our engagement in public life has never simply been about outcomes or policies, but about people. Scripture consistently calls us to value individuals, to speak truth with grace, and to seek the good of the communities we are part of. A system that makes representation feel less personal can make this harder to live out.

But not impossible. We must strive to keep the relational in our political system.

We can do this by resisting the temptation—even the expectation—to disengage. I can understand how a more party-driven system can make it feel as if there’s no point getting to know candidates, and all we need to do is read a manifesto (or take CARE’s engage26 quiz) to see who ticks the most boxes on our list of preferences and demands. Yet even within a list system, candidates are known, campaigns are run, and local presence still matters. Hustings, campaign events, and local party meetings all remain opportunities to ask questions, share concerns, and articulate a vision for the kind of society we want to see.

Second, consider how your thoughtful, prayerful engagement can lead to others making informed choices. It is part of our responsibility to seek the truth, not rely on the headlines or our social media feeds for the information that may impact our votes. As you research and interrogate the promises and pledges of each party, why not discuss what you discover and are thinking about with friends, family, and fellow congregation members? Our temptation is to retreat into our like-minded networks and confirmation-bias algorithms. But Christians should confidently be inquisitive and humbly connect with those of different opinions. There is no perfect ‘Christian Party’, and Christians do not have a monopoly on wisdom. God’s common grace means we need to be ready to learn truth from surprising sources and sometimes have our own blind spots challenged.

We should also consider our longer-term engagement. Maybe this election is the catalyst for you to seek out greater involvement in the party you are most drawn to. In the new system, parties hold a lot of power as they determine the candidate list and the order of those candidates. Perhaps this is the start of you influencing—or even getting on—one of those lists for the next election.

Finally, we should pray. Not as a last resort, but as a central part of faithful public engagement. We pray for those who will stand for election, for wisdom and integrity in public life, and for a political culture that values truth, justice, and compassion. That while they are on a Party list, they will also be ready to challenge political orthodoxy and group (or Party) thinking where the Bible has a better story to offer than current public policy.

The system may be changing, but our calling is not. We are still called to be present, to be engaged, and to be hopeful. Even in a more complex and less personal system, there remains space for Christians to contribute meaningfully to the life of our nation.