Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill

I find it easier to answer the second question than the first because, although we all complain about the media from time to time, believability tests are regularly conducted about different forms of media outlets—in other words, what do the public trust in terms of the information they receive from the various media outlets. Always near the bottom in believability tests, I fear, are party political broadcasts. Somewhere near the top are always programmes such as ““Crimewatch””; people believe what they hear when someone in uniform tells them. That is the scale. The broadcast media always come out better than the print media. My short answer to my noble friend is that broadcasters have an enormous responsibility to provide the information because the public trust the information that they get from broadcasters more than that which they get from newspapers. I have got my grievance off my chest and I hope I have made a point at the same time by saying that even the Electoral Commission does not always get things absolutely right. The Committee will be well aware that there are penalties when misleading information is given out by candidates during a normal general election. Very sadly—at least in my view—a court was able to remove a Member of Parliament quite recently. I think the only people who should be able to remove Members of Parliament are the electorate—rerun an election if you like. My point is simply this: there is a mechanism at the moment for penalties to be imposed if it is deemed that an election result is the result of misleading, inaccurate or false information being provided to the electorate. We are now discussing something far more important than an individual constituency election. We are discussing whether we should change the constitution of our country. Moreover, we are doing so without any requirement as to the number of people voting. My noble friend Lord Graham said that he once received just two letters in favour of something and one against. We could change the constitution on a very low poll with a very small majority. I ask the Leader of the House: what happens if demonstrably false information has been given out during the campaign, which results in the country’s constitution being changed? As far as I can see, there is absolutely no recourse whatever if that happens. As we have already said, this is not an indicative referendum; this is a referendum that, if passed, will become law almost automatically. These are serious questions. I have spoken for much longer than I intended to and would rather leave the matter now.