Electoral Administration Bill

My Lords, I shall follow my noble friend Lord Norton of Louth in nothing except for starting my speech with the words, ““I had not intended to speak in this debate””. I have been prompted to do so by him. I have much enjoyed listening to the debate, which has had a certain Byzantine quality of which the Reverend C L Dodgson would have approved. However, if the amendment moved by my noble friend Lord Lucas and supported by my noble friend Lord Norton of Louth were to reach the statute book without the amendment moved by the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, the one thing of which one could be absolutely sure is that the next time we face legislation on this matter, one of the arguments deployed for lowering the age of voting by the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, and others, would be that it is ridiculous to allow a man who has been elected to cast his vote in Divisions on serious matters and not allow him a vote himself. My noble friend Lord Norton is stirring. I warn him that I am about to sit down. If he wishes to intervene on me he must do so in the next 30 seconds. But I have said what I wanted to say.