Elections Bill

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

Government new clause 12—Purposes...

The Government are committed to increasing participation in our democracy and empowering all thos...

I thank the Minister for being receptive to the points that were raised in Committee about puttin...

I have nothing further to add to what we discussed in Committee. I understand the hon. Lady’s poi...

I thank my hon. Friend for going through the implications of new clause 11, which I very much wel...

I think it is very possible that this measure will assist people in speeding up the process by wh...

I appreciate the amendments that clarify what travel documents are permitted. The Public Administ...

I did look into this issue, and the reason why we have not accepted it is that the process for ge...

Rather than outlining a list, why does the Minister not take the approach of outlining the thresh...

That is a good question. It is something that we discussed in Committee and we decided that the b...

Before the Minister moves on, I just wonder whether she, since taking up her post, has had a chan...

Yes, I have had a meeting with AEA representatives and we talked about a range of issues. I canno...

A Government’s role should be to try to encourage more and more people into the democratic proces...

We have tested this measure in extensive pilots. Most people have photographic ID, and those who ...

Does the Minister welcome the fact that in Swindon, when we had the voter ID pilots, our turnout ...

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point and shows that we have carried out thorough investigation...

The Government themselves say time and again that EU citizens make such a contribution to the UK....

We had multiple discussions on EU citizenship when we debated Brexit legislation. These are techn...

Does this slew of technical amendments relating to machinery of government changes reflect the in...

I think the hon. Gentleman may be confused as to the reasons why we are making this change. We ha...

It is a pleasure to speak for the Opposition in these proceedings. I am taking on this role partw...

In that case, why does my local Labour party insist on photo voter ID when it comes to select my ...

I confess that I had hoped the hon. Gentleman would ask me that. I have been a Labour party branc...

Does the hon. Gentleman not accept that the Bill also includes provisions for totally free and su...

The hon. Gentleman reads my mind, because I was about to turn to that issue. I was going to say t...

My hon. Friend is making excellent progress. One point made by Government Members is that people ...

I want the course of elections to be changed by people—by those eligible to vote. Although some o...

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech thus far. He has talked about the need for photograp...

My hon. Friend knows that of which she speaks. In this place she is a leading campaigner on such ...

Does my hon. Friend agree that that measure will create a postcode lottery for people who are par...

That is an excellent point. The question of who provides the requisite equipment and who does not...

One issue that I discuss regularly with my constituents, especially young voters, is their wish t...

I share my hon. Friend’s view. What I hear during my visits is very much in line what she is hear...

I am interested to know the hon. Gentleman’s perspective, from a Labour point of view, on Labour ...

Order. What is all this shouting? The hon. Gentleman will make his point and the Opposition spoke...

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I was simply asking how that fits into the perspective that the ...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I hoped that we were going to talk abou...

Voting Labour is much more dangerous than having a pint.

The hon. Gentleman knows that I will always take an intervention from him, so should he wish he w...

With regard to voter participation among 16 and 17-year-olds in Scotland, another reason we have ...

I have significant issues with new clause 13, as drafted, which simply asks to introduce a propor...

This debate is about important changes to one of the pillars of our democracy: the way we run fre...

Will the right hon. Lady explain how what she has just said will encourage people from right acro...

Because it will enable people to be part of the system, to register online and to have confidence...

I rise to speak in support of new clause 1, as well as new clauses 3 to 8, tabled in my name and ...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the future of this country would look entirely different, part...

The hon. Lady makes an extremely good point, which I will address specifically as I continue my s...

I once met Winnie Ewing when I was at school and she came to talk to a politics class I was atten...

I think the hon. Gentleman is confusing private rights and public rights. There are public health...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind remarks. It was a pleasure to serve on the Bill Committee...

The hon. Lady is absolutely spot-on. As she says, we heard from many witnesses who said that the ...

Are these new clauses not a challenge to Members from other parties, particularly Scottish Conser...

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. I am sure that Conservative Members for Welsh const...

It will be obvious that a great many people wish to speak and that we do not have very long. We h...

I cannot promise to be as succinct as I was in my last speech before you, Madam Deputy Speaker, w...

As someone who was responsible for bringing in the original provision that people could just say ...

I completely understand my right hon. Friend’s point. There could be a ridiculous situation of “I...

Does the hon. Gentleman recognise the evidence base from Northern Ireland? The introduction of vo...

I absolutely agree. In my own borough, a senior Labour councillor who was a member of council cab...

I am grateful to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to take part in this important de...

As the right hon. Gentleman knows, I am sympathetic to electoral reform. He makes the point about...

I can give the hon. Gentleman that reassurance. I can assure him that, if anything, the link woul...

My right hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. For a long time people have complained that o...

I believe it could do. I think we have to be careful not to oversell it, because the electoral sy...

I welcome some of what the Government have announced today, particularly the safeguards around po...

If the 75% of 16 and 17-year-olds who voted in the Scottish independence referendum did not make ...

The hon. Member raises a very important point. A far higher proportion voted in that group than i...

I was asking you.

Wait a second—the hon. Member can intervene again if he wishes. I know that he and the Scottish N...

Does the hon. Member not recognise that the same treaty says that under-18s should have a say in ...

I do not think it says that they should have the vote in those countries, actually.

It is a broad treaty.

Indeed.

With respect to the Liberal Democrats’ new clause 13, the single transferable vote ...

Over 180 years ago, starting in Blaenau Gwent, thousands of Chartists marched on Newport. From ac...

The hon. Member makes the point that if we put an administrative hurdle, by which he means photog...

I thank the hon. Member for intervening, but those were exceptional times, and I will answer his ...

On that point, the evidential base that the hon. Member for Broadland (Jerome Mayhew) referred to...

I will answer those remarks in my contribution.

I sat on the Bill Committee, and I heard a ...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I am going to carry on.

We heard about terrible cases of fraud in Tower Hamlets, Peterborou...

I am delighted to speak in this debate. The first thing I should say is in response to the Scotti...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Wycombe (Mr Baker). My hon. Friend the Member for ...

It is a pleasure to be called to speak and to inform the hon. Member for Nottingham North (Alex N...

I rise to speak to new clause 16, in my name and that of Members from four of the parties represe...

My right hon. Friend has made some excellent points. The chair of the Trade Union and Labour Part...

My hon. Friend is right and he will horrified to hear that there is more.

Perhaps the most ...

Has my right hon. Friend read the transcript of our Committee hearings? I hope that the Minister ...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The point is that I can raise questions here that warrant fur...

rose—

Order. I am sorry, but the right hon. Gentleman has taken his two interventions, and his time is ...

Like my hon. Friend the Member for Heywood and Middleton (Chris Clarkson), I served on the Bill C...

In an earlier speech, reference was made to an electoral judge suggesting that personation was ne...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. One of the key problems is not only not looking for it—it is ...

Order. We will now go to four minutes.

8.30 pm

I rise to speak to my new clause 18, and I declare an interest as a member of the all-party parli...

It is a pleasure to speak on this Bill as it continues to progress through this place. I welcome ...

Does my hon. Friend agree that, across the country, people are concerned about postal voting? I a...

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, and I am delighted he is here, having taken the constitue...

Although I do not wish to repeat in detail the excellent points made by so many colleagues, I wan...

The right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) said that there was too little time...

I am afraid that I completely disagree. I sat on the Bill Committee, which the Government rushed ...

We will have to agree to disagree on that because there was very lively debate in Committee.

I begin by disagreeing with the hon. Member for Broadland (Jerome Mayhew). I do not feel that the...

Does my hon. Friend agree that this Bill is not really about updating electoral law? It is about ...

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. This should have been a Bill to solidify and make our ele...

I call John McDonnell. There will be no time limit, but he must resume his seat no later than 8.5...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood (Cat Smith) on the work she ...

With the leave of the House, I would like to address some of the points that were raised during t...

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.

I thank all Members across the Hou...

There are many difficult decisions to make in this place—matters of fine balance, of public polic...

There is no doubt that this is a dreadful Bill designed to undermine democracy, but I put on reco...