Political Parties and Elections Bill

I thank noble Lords who participated in the debate. The points they made reached an esoteric level that I will not seek to meet. The amendment would vary Section 13 of the PPERA, which makes provision about the commission's role in providing education about electoral and democratic systems. Section 13 enables the commission to promote public awareness of current electoral systems in the United Kingdom and connected matters and also current systems of local government, national Government in the United Kingdom and the institutions of the European Union. The effect of the amendment, which seeks to delete paragraphs (b) and (c) from Section 13(1), would be to restrict the commission’s role to promoting public awareness of current electoral systems in the United Kingdom. This would involve provision of public information on the mechanics of the electoral process, including electoral registration procedures, how to vote and explaining any changes to the electoral system. However, the commission would no longer have a role in providing education about current systems of local and national government in the United Kingdom or institutions of the European Union. We would resist this as we believe that these roles go hand in hand. In advising people about how to vote and on registration procedures, the commission should also be able to educate people about how the various systems of local and national government in the United Kingdom, and institutions of the European Union that they might be voting for, operate. This will ensure that people fully understand the various systems in place so that they can make informed choices about how to vote. The Electoral Commission is well placed to provide this role given its independence and breadth of experience in the field. Noble Lords may be aware that there is a general consensus, with which the commission concurs, that the commission should withdraw from a wider role of encouraging democratic engagement. The Government therefore accepted the recommendation of the Committee on Standards in Public Life that the commission should no longer have this role. However, as the CSPL recommended, we believe that the commission should retain a clearly defined statutory duty for the provision of public information on the mechanics of the electoral process, including electoral registration procedures, how to vote and explaining any changes to the electoral system. Informing the public on the mechanics of the electoral system, including the registration process, is key to maintaining a strong democracy. We believe that the commission’s duty to provide information about the current systems of local government or the institutions of the European Union is an intrinsic part of that role. Removing it, as the amendment seeks, would therefore be unhelpful and serve no useful purpose. The Electoral Commission makes it clear on page four of its briefing for today’s Committee that it shares this view and reiterates its concerns. As the commission highlights, while the vast majority of its public awareness activity focuses on electoral systems, it also provides some information on systems of government and democratic institutions, which is important in explaining the relevance of the democratic process. The points made by noble Lords are a matter of balance. That the commission should have clarity of purpose was a particularly important point. The Bill gives that to the commission. Officials behind me despair of sending me long notes, so they have sent me a short one. The Electoral Commission’s role is to explain not just how to vote but also what people are voting for. This means that paragraphs (b) and (c) are necessary. I ask the noble Lord to withdraw his amendment.