Electoral Administration Bill

My Lords, since the noble Lord, Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, questioned whether I was going to say anything, I should perhaps briefly indicate our position. We certainly agree that we do not want to see all-postal voting used in pilot schemes in principle. There is some ground for saying that all-postal elections might be suitable for the lowest level—that is, for parish or town councils—where the powers are far less significant. The electorate in those cases might prefer to vote by post. I cannot see there being much likelihood of serious electoral fraud given the limited powers concerned. Subject to that, we also do not wish to see all-postal voting in pilot schemes. Moreover, until we know that methods to protect the security of voting exist, which is not the case now, we certainly would not like to see pilot schemes for other methods of voting.