Welsh Assembly votes at 16 plans move forward

The first hurdle to reduce the voting age to 16 and rename the assembly a Welsh Parliament will be put in front of AMs next week.

AMs are to be asked to endorse plans for a new law making constitutional changes to how the assembly works.

Presiding Officer Elin Jones said the aim was to "give young people a stronger voice in the future of our nation" in time for the 2021 election.

The vote will allow the assembly to prepare new legislation.

AMs are expected to back the proposals - the legislation would then need to be passed by 40 of the 60 assembly members to become law.

The Assembly Commission, responsible for the day-to-day running of the institution, is still considering what the new name for assembly members will be.

There is concern among some AMs that their title could change to MWPs (Member of the Welsh Parliament), with some describing MWP as a "short verbal hop" to Muppet.

Many of the plans are based on the findings of the Prof Laura McAllister report, published in 2017, on improving the effectiveness of the institution.

The review's more contentious recommendation, that the number of AMs be increased by 20 to 30 to cope with a growing workload, will be dealt with later in this assembly term if politicians can reach agreement.