Electoral Administration Bill

That is a good point, but it is for the MOD to consult the armed services. The hon. Member for Chichester (Mr. Tyrie) does not want to receive assurances and then wonder where the beef is when nothing transpires. I accept the arguments of Members who have made their case and proved their point. As far as I can see, we have yet to find the right formula to solve the problem. We need a fail-safe system to back up the efforts already being made by the MOD, the armed forces and the Electoral Commission, but I do not think that returning to the status quo ante is good enough. We are trying to find solutions and we will consider, in consultation with the MOD and the armed services, whether we need to include powers in the Bill that we could use if what is being done by the Electoral Commission and the MOD does not work. I entirely accept the spirit of the new clause and the criticisms that have been made. I remind Members that efforts are being made to sort the matter out and that we intend to consider whether we need primary legislation in the form of a new clause to sort it out once and for all. I do not want it to be possible for people to be out in the armed services in different parts of the world without its being possible to enfranchise them in our democracy. I accept that that is not satisfactory and I am determined that we shall do something about it.