Electoral Administration Bill

There are instances of that kind. The Bill makes up some of the deficit in that respect, and I commend the Government for that. We expect three things: as full a registration process as possible; opportunities for people who are on the register to be able to cast their vote effectively; and accurate registers to ensure that those who are not entitled to vote do not appear on the register in the first instance or at a later stage when they come to cast their vote. One of the points that recurred on Second Reading and in Committee was that we need to be absolutely clear about the duty on EROs, and on those who control their finances, to ensure that the process works effectively. I agree with the Minister about the three legs of the stool as regards the legitimacy of the election process. To use slightly archaic language, an old political song in the Liberal tradition from the beginning of the last century says:"““Peace, Reform and Liberation"" Be our triune aspiration””." The triune aspiration for us is to ensure that registration officers have a clear duty to maximise registration, that people who are registered have the opportunity to vote, and that those who should not be registered to vote are not on the register and do not have the capacity to affect the outcome of elections. The difficulty is that that is nowhere to be found in the Bill. In clause 9, the Government have produced some duties to take necessary steps. There is an argument that clause 9 would become redundant were my new clause to be accepted, but I do not accept that. The new clause sets out the practical steps that we should expect registration officers to take. I want a declaratory statement of the basic duty of registration officers that they can put in front of the chief executive of their local authority and say, ““Look—this is my duty, and I want to perform it on behalf of the electors in this constituency in this local authority area. Your duty, clearly stated, is to provide the resources necessary for me to carry out those functions.”” There is great merit in being so clear. Including the declaratory statement improves clarity for all registration officers and I hope that the Government will warm to it. I do not dissent from the sentiments of amendment (a) but it is otiose. It adds a fourth duty that"““any person registered to vote who is not entitled to vote is removed from the register as soon as reasonably practicable.””" I agree with that but it is encompassed by subsection (1)(c) in the new clause, which provides that"““no person is registered who is not entitled to vote.””" If one is not entitled to vote, one should either not be registered in the first instance or not be allowed to remain on the register.