UK Parliament / Open data

Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill

Debate on bills on Tuesday, 16 November 2010, in the House of Lords, led by Baroness Henig. The answering member was Lord McNally.
Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill. Lords second reading debate (second day). Agreed on question and Bill committed to a Committee of the Whole House.
Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
722 c718-72 
Session
2010-12
Department
Ministry of Justice
Legislative stage
Second reading
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
Related items
Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill. Brought from the Commons. Explanatory notes also published (HL Bill 26-EN).
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
Bills
House of Lords
Proceeding contributions
Lord Tyler | 722 c741 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I have a very real affection for the noble Lord, Lord McAvoy, but I recall only too well t...
Lord Grocott | 722 c742 (Link to this contribution) I suppose that my noble friend is as surprised as I am that the noble Lord, Lord Tyler, did not foll...

Show all contributions (96)
Lord Phillips of Sudbury | 722 c744 (Link to this contribution) Is the noble Baroness aware that, of the factors which the Bill prescribes must be taken into accoun...
Baroness McDonagh | 722 c743-4 (Link to this contribution) I start by declaring an interest; I have been a professional election organiser since my teens, I wa...
Lord Kennedy of Southwark | 722 c736-9 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, as a Lewisham resident, I disagree with the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Maples, about...
Lord Hoyle | 722 c734-6 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, what we are considering here is a nasty and partisan Bill. No clear answers have been give...
Lord McAvoy | 722 c740-1 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I shall take a minute or so to outline the context and the background against which I shal...
Lord Phillips of Sudbury | 722 c739-40 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy of Southwark, may be jumping the gun. We should give this Hou...
Lord Falconer of Thoroton | 722 c728-9 (Link to this contribution) As the noble Lord knows, we support the idea of equalisation. He is blithely saying that all these d...
Lord Maples | 722 c728 (Link to this contribution) The average size of a constituency at that time was 68,000 voters, but 440 of them were more than 5 ...
Lord Maples | 722 c727-8 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, if the noble Lord was speaking on medical matters, I would be very reluctant to tangle wit...
Lord Maples | 722 c729-30 (Link to this contribution) I think that it is undoubtedly a problem, and it is particularly so with young people, but it is muc...
Lord Wills | 722 c729 (Link to this contribution) I am very grateful to the noble Lord for giving way. He has been very generous with his time. To wha...
Lord Maples | 722 c729 (Link to this contribution) I prefer to make my own speech, and that is not a subject that I want to deal with. This Bill is abo...
Lord Turnberg | 722 c726-7 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, whenever I have spoken in your Lordships' House I have tended to concentrate on medical an...
Lord Howarth of Newport | 722 c726 (Link to this contribution) For the reasons I have given, I do not think it is a good idea to hold a referendum on AV; nor did I...
Lord Roberts of Llandudno | 722 c726 (Link to this contribution) Is the noble Lord really rejecting the Labour Party manifesto and its commitment to a referendum on ...
Baroness Henig | 722 c718-20 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, in rising to speak on day 2 of the Bill, first, I express my personal gratitude to the bus...
Lord Rennard | 722 c720 (Link to this contribution) Will the noble Baroness accept that that already happens in the case of Saddleworth, which we know i...
Baroness Henig | 722 c720-1 (Link to this contribution) I understand that, given that numerical considerations will be paramount in the Boundary Commission’...
Lord Howarth of Newport | 722 c721-6 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, the coalition kids are trashing Parliament. They are trashing everything else, after all—s...
Lord McNally | 722 c767 (Link to this contribution) Of course it was. I remember at Transport House the calculations of whether Harold should go in Marc...
Lord McNally | 722 c767 (Link to this contribution) Again, the coalition came to an agreement on a reform programme and it came to a figure which is ent...
Lord Wills | 722 c766 (Link to this contribution) I will tell him exactly what action we took, and I want to bring him back to a question that he has ...
Lord McNally | 722 c766 (Link to this contribution) Let me give one example. The noble Baroness, Lady Nye, shed crocodile tears over the missing 7 per c...
Baroness McDonagh | 722 c767 (Link to this contribution) With respect to the noble Lord, his argument does not hold together intellectually. He is chastising...
Lord McNally | 722 c766 (Link to this contribution) Because we have put the legislation before the House and are taking it through the House. Just to go...
Lord McNally | 722 c767 (Link to this contribution) All that I am repeating is the cold fact that 36 per cent of the vote delivered Labour an overall ma...
Lord McNally | 722 c769 (Link to this contribution) We will certainly look forward to the amendments but we take guidance from the House of Commons, whi...
Lord McNally | 722 c768-9 (Link to this contribution) I do not think so, and I do not think that we are going down that road. On the boundaries, the Bill...
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean | 722 c769 (Link to this contribution) I apologise for interrupting, but my noble friend asked a question that he raised in his speech yest...
Lord McNally | 722 c768 (Link to this contribution) I have absolutely no idea whether such modelling has taken place. If someone tells me afterwards tha...
Lord Wills | 722 c768 (Link to this contribution) I actually want to help the noble Lord, I really do. He is in a lot of trouble and here is my sugges...
Lord Lamont of Lerwick | 722 c768 (Link to this contribution) Will the Minister answer the specific point: would a threshold that related to turnout, as opposed t...
Lord McNally | 722 c768 (Link to this contribution) For goodness’ sake, here we are, with everyone telling me that this is a constitutional Bill of the ...
Lord Campbell-Savours | 722 c768 (Link to this contribution) If the Minister has no idea, will he answer the Written Question that I tabled yesterday on that ver...
Lord McNally | 722 c763-5 (Link to this contribution) It has not even started yet and already we have had over 40 interventions. So any complaints about t...
Lord Grocott | 722 c765 (Link to this contribution) The argument is not about whether it should all be contained in one piece of legislation. It is abou...
Lord Bach | 722 c758-63 (Link to this contribution) It is funny; I was just talking about the noble Lord. I admire him so much for his many qualities, b...
Lord McNally | 722 c763 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, it is always a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Bach. I know how thoroughly he has ...
Lord Wills | 722 c757 (Link to this contribution) I am very grateful to the noble Lord for giving way. I wonder if he has noticed that this is the sec...
Lord Davies of Oldham | 722 c757 (Link to this contribution) Has the noble Lord not noticed that the tolerance level around the figure of 76,000 is a mere 5 per ...
Lord Bach | 722 c758 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, from the Opposition Front Bench, I thank all those who have spoken during Second Reading. ...
Lord Davies of Oldham | 722 c757-8 (Link to this contribution) I am so grateful to my noble friend, although he will recognise that I said that I would speak brief...
Baroness Smith of Basildon | 722 c766 (Link to this contribution) The noble Lord said a few minutes ago that Members on this side of the House were afraid of debating...
Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws | 722 c766 (Link to this contribution) The noble Lord most certainly did hear that in the course of this debate from these Benches. But it ...
Lord McNally | 722 c766 (Link to this contribution) The Bill is being considered, and considered on the basis of fairness. I know that the noble Barones...
Lord McNally | 722 c766 (Link to this contribution) Oh, you have all turned out—but we shall get later to what this Bill is really about and what you ar...
Lord McNally | 722 c765 (Link to this contribution) We will have the debate on the future of the Lords in due time. Whether I come from Blackpool or not...
Lord Grocott | 722 c765 (Link to this contribution) I know that the noble Lord comes from Blackpool, but could he move away from the music hall act and ...
Lord McNally | 722 c765 (Link to this contribution) I seek not to see the distant sea. This is absurd. This is going on all night. You are afraid to dis...
Lord Grocott | 722 c765 (Link to this contribution) Just tell us whether there will be a referendum.
Lord McNally | 722 c765 (Link to this contribution) Well, I seek not to see the distant sea. We have not seen the legislation on the House of Lords yet....
Lord Roberts of Llandudno | 722 c746-7 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, it is a pleasure to take part in this debate. Much of what we have heard seems to treat th...
Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town | 722 c748 (Link to this contribution) Since the noble Lord is, quite rightly, interested in young people, would he support a change to the...
Lord Roberts of Llandudno | 722 c748 (Link to this contribution) That has nothing to do with my argument. My argument is that in larger seats more people will not ha...
Baroness McDonagh | 722 c748 (Link to this contribution) I do not know why the noble Lord is shouting at us. Holding a referendum on the alternative vote was...
Lord Roberts of Llandudno | 722 c748 (Link to this contribution) I would be quite happy with that. It is Liberal Democrat policy to lower the voting age. I think I h...
Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town | 722 c748-9 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, it is late so I will make just four points. First, I am sorry that the noble Lord, Lord La...
Lord Roberts of Llandudno | 722 c748 (Link to this contribution) It was, so I will continue shouting until the Labour Party admits that it was in its manifesto and t...
Baroness McDonagh | 722 c744-6 (Link to this contribution) Exactly—but to create those local ties you have to be able to build from a local government ward and...
Lord Howarth of Newport | 722 c746 (Link to this contribution) My noble friend was just addressing her remarks to the Conservative Party, but has she noticed that ...
Lord Davies of Oldham | 722 c755-6 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, as the 53rd contributor to this debate, I could readily succumb to the temptation of the o...
Lord Graham of Edmonton | 722 c754-5 (Link to this contribution) Yes, he is a Member. It gave me a dramatic feeling of being involved in a major piece of legislation...
Lord Graham of Edmonton | 722 c754 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I will make a brief contribution. The noble Lords, Lord Lyell and Lord Rennard, are here a...
Lord Phillips of Sudbury | 722 c757 (Link to this contribution) I am very grateful to the noble Lord for giving way. He is saying, as some of his colleagues have sa...
Lord Rennard | 722 c756 (Link to this contribution) Does the noble Lord accept that that already happens with the crossing of London borough boundaries?...
Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town | 722 c749-51 (Link to this contribution) At that stage I would also have argued for a threshold. George Cunningham remains a friend of mine; ...
Lord Rennard | 722 c749 (Link to this contribution) On the issue of turnout, there were referendums in Scotland and Wales, introduced by the Labour Gove...
Lord McNally | 722 c770 (Link to this contribution) I have just explained. They will have weeks of opportunities—massive opportunities. The Labour Party...
Lord Norton of Louth | 722 c770 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I intervene as I detect that my noble friend is about to finish. I noticed that a little e...
Lord McNally | 722 c770-1 (Link to this contribution) As I have said before—I think that this has been put on record in the other place—if the general opi...
Lord Touhig | 722 c771 (Link to this contribution) I would hate the Minister, as a Liberal Democrat, to miss the opportunity to explain to the people o...
Lord McNally | 722 c772 (Link to this contribution) The Liberals in Wales will hear those arguments when they are discussed in Committee. It is not a ca...
Lord Maples | 722 c731 (Link to this contribution) I have given way to the noble Lord once and I do not think that I will do so again. They do not have...
Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke | 722 c770 (Link to this contribution) The noble Lord stresses fair votes and fair constituencies. Why, then, will he not allow people in t...
Baroness Nye | 722 c731-4 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, this Bill is in two parts so it is perhaps fitting that Second Reading should end up being...
Lord McNally | 722 c769 (Link to this contribution) Well, noble Lords can put their amendments down and I will debate them too. I know which way we are ...
Lord Lamont of Lerwick | 722 c769 (Link to this contribution) The Minister was given 24 hours’ notice of the question.
Lord McNally | 722 c769 (Link to this contribution) We are not going to have thresholds. Put the amendments down and, at the appropriate time, I will op...
Lord McNally | 722 c770 (Link to this contribution) As we all know, there is an absolute industry in dragging up politicians’ past statements.
Lord Tyler | 722 c769 (Link to this contribution) This is a helpful one. My noble friend, in opposing any thresholds, will have the support of the Con...
Lord McNally | 722 c769-70 (Link to this contribution) As so often in my career, my noble friend comes over the hill like the seventh cavalry. I turn agai...
Lord McNally | 722 c770 (Link to this contribution) The noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours, is too pessimistic. At the heart of the Bill—and this is why ...
Lord McAvoy | 722 c742 (Link to this contribution) Certainly. I represented 77,000 constituents. Let me say right away that, as for the affection that ...
Lord McAvoy | 722 c742-3 (Link to this contribution) As ever, the noble Lord, Lord Grocott, has hit the nail right on the head. Let me tackle the questi...
Lord McAvoy | 722 c747-8 (Link to this contribution) My good friend the noble Lord, Lord Tyler, has informed me that in 2005 my electorate was just over ...
Lord Stevenson of Balmacara | 722 c751-3 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I declare a past interest in that when I worked at the Policy Unit at No. 10 before the la...
Lord Campbell-Savours | 722 c770 (Link to this contribution) Is one of the problems with the referendum now not the Deputy Prime Minister’s statement that this i...
Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke | 722 c767 (Link to this contribution) The noble Lord is very considerate but was it not the case that in the manifesto of the party that h...
Lord Martin of Springburn | 722 c767 (Link to this contribution) In the 30 years that I was in the other House, there was a time when all I had to look up where my c...
Lord Davies of Oldham | 722 c756-7 (Link to this contribution) Of course it does. The noble Lord, Lord Rennard, is probably the best placed of anyone in this House...
Subjects
Constituency size
Constituencies
Alternative vote
Costs
Electoral register
General elections
Northern Ireland
Referendums
Scotland
Voting methods
Reform
Wales
Legislation
Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill 2010-12
Link
View this Parliamentary proceeding on www.publications.parliament.uk
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