Electoral Administration Bill

My Lords, I was waiting in case the Liberal Democrats were going to intervene. I have already declared my interest as a voter in Tower Hamlets. I warmly support my noble friend’s amendments and I shall turn in a moment specifically to Amendment No. 46. I share with my noble friend the experience in the run-up to the local government elections of concern that fraud was continuing to occur in one form or another, notably in postal voting. In the aftermath of the election, it emerged that some people turned up to vote and were told that they had voted already, presumably because a postal vote had been claimed in their name. My vote is not significant in the context of Tower Hamlets, yet as a single voter there, I was very much concerned that the pattern of the election was likely to be affected by a relatively massive fraud in certain buildings in the borough. We have said at various stages during the passage of this Bill that, although we understand the Government’s concern to increase the number of people voting, it is still much more important that those who vote should have the right to vote and should not have stolen the vote of somebody else. Too much haste does cause less speed. I realise that Amendment No. 46 relates specifically to the Government’s enthusiasm for becoming more technological. I would hope that we will not become more technological until we have managed in more conventional methods of voting to deliver a system which is universally regarded by the electorate as honest and fair.