Government of Wales Bill

Absolutely. As my hon. Friend says from a sedentary position, they are in a minority. Does the hon. Lady want me to quote the others? For example:"““I think it is unfair . . . it’s like people can sneak in the back door.””;""““It doesn’t seem right that they can stand for both somehow. Makes it too confusing for everyday people.””;""““They should choose perhaps. They should have to decide.””;""““You don’t have two bites of the cherry.””" Those are the quotes from the Bevan Foundation report that the hon. Lady did not use. We had a good debate in Committee, where we spent more than two and a half hours discussing the matter. We have now debated it for a considerable time. Let me deal with some of the amendments briefly. I urge my hon. Friends to oppose amendment No. 1. The ban on dual candidacy was a manifesto commitment and the amendment would reinstate the status quo. That means that dual candidacy and all that that entails would continue. Amendments Nos. 8 and 9 and new clause 4 would also contradict the manifesto commitment, for which clause 7 provides, by allowing a candidate who has been elected to fill a constituency vacancy at a by-election to stand as both a constituency candidate and a regional list candidate at the subsequent general election. They go further and would enable candidates to stand on a regional list and in any constituency, even outside the region. That would not happen even under the current arrangements. Amendment No. 2 would enable any candidate who was on a regional list to stay on it and fill a regional vacancy if one occurred. As drafted, it would even cover candidates whose return was void, but I take it that the intention was to cover those who decide to stand in a by-election. Voters clearly do not understand how defeated constituency candidates can be elected through the back door on their party’s regional list. The new provision will restore voters’ democratic right to reject a constituency candidate. That is as important as the right to elect a candidate but some hon. Members do not appear to appreciate that. The current system undermines electoral confidence at a time when we need to increase voter turnout. The proposals would affect all parties equally, not least three members of the Assembly Cabinet who stand to lose their seats if there is a significant swing against them, with no parachute, which Conservative Members demand. As I said, criticism of dual candidacy has come from across the political spectrum. I therefore ask the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs. Gillan) to withdraw the amendment.