Political Parties and Elections Bill

I will not give way for at least two minutes. I think that we have reached agreement on the broad principles, if not yet on the modalities. I hope that this goes without saying, but I should say for the record that all this will be subject to available resources, and I think that hon. Members on both sides of the House will recognise that fact. Given that it is so important that this historic move is non-partisan, we have put the Electoral Commission at the centre of the move to individual registration, although, crucially, as I have said, Parliament will have the final say. We have consulted the Electoral Commission about its role, and it is content with it. For too long, the debate on electoral registration, which is the foundation of our democracy, has focused either on one or the other of these two fundamental principles—either on the reach of the register, or on its integrity—and as a result, we have persisted with a system that no longer has any place in Britain today. The time has come to make this change. The proposals that we are announcing today and the strategy to carry them forward will introduce individual registration as soon as it is possible without damaging the reach of the register. That link between the system of registration and its reach ensures that this historic shift, if and when it takes place, will ensure a level playing field for all political parties. That is the guarantor of the legitimacy of the change, and it is what will ensure that it endures. For all those reasons, I hope that the House will support the new clauses and, in doing so, endorse the strategy that lies behind them. We have an opportunity now, no matter what the concerns about the process. I understand the concerns, but we will do whatever we can to mitigate them. I have no theological problem with the concerns about modalities that have been expressed by Opposition Members. What is absolutely fundamental—I hope that the House will agree on this today—is that we endorse the fundamental principles and that we move to individual registration on the basis of a register that is as comprehensive and accurate as possible, and these new clauses are the start of that process.