Elections Bill

Has not the noble Lord just undermined his own argument, then? If things are moving in the right ...

The noble Lord is misinterpreting the data within those datasets and what the Electoral Commissio...

In my Second Reading speech, I said that I recognised the sense in which we have a problem of peo...

I thank the noble Baroness for her intervention. She and I clearly recognise that there is a prob...

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for giving way. He spoke about the alienation of voters and earl...

I agree with the noble Baroness, but I am not sure that it is specifically or solely related to t...

I was only giving my personal experience.

I appreciate that correction from the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman.

But the concentration ha...

I am grateful to the noble Lord for giving way again. I understand where he is going: he is drawi...

On the noble Baroness’s first intervention, I knew that people would raise objections. I was citi...

What I am struggling to understand is this. There is a fundamental difference between belonging t...

The right reverend Prelate identifies the difference, but I have drawn the parallel, and it is a ...

Has the noble Lord finished? I am sure my noble friend will deal with his query, which has been d...

My noble friend might be interested to know that at the end of the last day in Committee the nobl...

Well, I do not suppose that surprises me. I bet one bit of research they have done and been caref...

I am grateful to my noble friend for giving way. What he and the Committee are addressing are the...

I absolutely agree. I would add only one point to my noble friend’s observations. If we regard th...

Before my noble friend Lord Hayward sat down, the noble Lord, Lord Sikka, rose to intervene. Perh...

Thank you very much. I certainly have not come across any evidence to suggest that ID cards are a...

My Lords, voter ID is not something dreamed up by the Government with the express intention of su...

Can the noble Baroness explain where the Electoral Commission by itself said that voter ID was re...

I am sorry that I do not have chapter and verse with me, but the Electoral Commission has called ...

If the system works well, why change it? I thought it was a good Conservative principle that, whe...

The world has changed very considerably in the past half a century.

Would the noble Baroness concede that this House and the other place have changed very little in ...

That is an entirely irrelevant observation, if I may say so.

I have heard many noble Lords ...

I am grateful to the noble Baroness for giving way, because it is worth addressing this point. It...

My Lords, the noble Baroness says we are not comparing like with like, and I completely agree. I ...

The Electoral Commission’s analysis of the 2019 pilots showed that people in the compulsory voter...

I cannot answer that question, but the purpose of pilots is to find out what practical problems t...

But if the basis of this, as the Government keep saying, is to increase the public’s satisfaction...

I do not think the only metric is how satisfied people were. The most important thing is how comf...

My Lords—

I am just about to finish, if the noble Baroness does not mind. I hope that noble Lords will stan...

My Lords, I shall speak in support of these clauses not standing part of the Bill. I do so primar...

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Lister of Burtersett. I agree...

Does the noble Baroness not understand that voting systems in the US are a state matter? The prob...

I disagree with the noble Lord, in the sense that I am talking about the rhetoric, and the contex...

The noble Baroness is citing where the pilots took place. Earlier on, the noble Lord, Lord Adonis...

I respectfully respond to the noble Lord that, whether it was the choice of the local authorities...

If I may intervene, I knew where the pilots had taken place, but they were not nearly proportiona...

Is it not the case that this has not been piloted before a general election? The Electoral Commis...

That is a fundamental point. They were piloted in local elections. The scale of the pilots has no...

I thank both noble Lords, who have contributed greatly to my argument.

I come back to the q...

My Lords, at Second Reading, my noble friend Lord Rennard, who unfortunately cannot be here today...

My Lords, the speech that we have just heard from the noble Lord was utterly compelling. Indeed, ...

It was 12 years.

That should be a matter of huge concern. In an extraordinarily un-Conservative statement earlier,...

I am sorry to intervene again but is the noble Lord aware of the report of foreign observers who ...

The big issue in Tower Hamlets, which the noble Lord referred to earlier, was electoral registrat...

My Lords, I intend to be brief, because I do not want to repeat all the excellent arguments that ...

I thank the noble Lord for giving way. Yes, the report of the committee that I chaired said that ...

I hear what the noble Lord says, but it will not stop me—because in the argument about proportion...

Well, my Lords, I thank all those who have taken part in what has been quite a lengthy debate—but...

I am sorry, but can the Minister clarify why the Government chose not to put the word “photo” int...

The Government had an established and declared policy on voter identification which was reference...

I am sorry to interrupt. I do not want to delay proceedings any more, but the noble Lord just ref...

My Lords, applications for the free card will be available up to 5 pm on the day before, as has b...

My Lords, I do not need to meet the Bill team. The impact assessment that the Minister signed off...

My Lords, I am sorry that the noble Lord does not wish to meet members of the Bill team and I am ...

I think it is important for the Committee to understand this because the noble Lord has said some...

My Lords, it covers economic, equality and other assessments. If I misspoke, I apologise. I say f...

Does the Minister therefore intend to accept my noble friend Lady Hayman of Ullock’s Amendment 64...

No—we do not believe that the amendment is necessary, but the noble Lord is anticipating the next...

That is very well and good but coming back to the impact assessment, on applying for absent votes...

My Lords, I repeat that we believe that, in an increasingly digital world, where the introduction...

There is a fundamental issue. The Minister has said that it will be possible to apply for the two...

My Lords, I am not sure whether it is under that specific rubric. Obviously, a lot of this materi...

My Lords, this has been a long and often confused debate. I have to say that I am as confused at ...

Moved by

Baroness Hayman of Ullock

63: After Clause 1, insert the following new Claus...

My Lords, there is a large number of amendments in this group, all of which refer to Schedule 1. ...

The issue that I hope the Minister will address, and which goes to the heart of my noble friend’s...

To save multiple interventions on my noble friend, I just want to say this: it is all very well t...

I thank both my noble friends for their contributions and support for this amendment. As I said, ...

My Lords, I will speak briefly in support of Amendments 64, 78, 79 and 81. On Second Reading, I e...

My Lords, Amendment 80 in my name has the support of other Members of this House, including—he as...

The noble Lord is implicitly saying that he does not regard the Conservative Party manifesto as e...

Well, it will be up to the Committee to decide. I very much hope the Minister will be able to pro...

Before the noble Lord sits down, I will ask a question specifically addressed to his amendment. B...

I wrote one yesterday.

I make no comment about that, but people increasingly use debit and credit cards. They carry them...

I take that point; this is not the perfect list. Indeed, there is a rather different agenda behin...

My Lords, I will speak briefly to support the amendments to which I added my name: Amendment 80 i...

My Lords, I offer your Lordships an apology for not being able to contribute to Committee for all...

My Lords, I support Amendments 63 to 69 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman of Ullock,...

My Lords, I agree with almost all of the previous contributions. I wish I had joined in on the pr...

My Lords, I want to return to what the Minister said in the last group, because it is going to be...

The noble Lord made a thoroughly compelling speech, as did the noble Lord, Lord Willetts. As he i...

My noble friend makes a compelling point, which is really a point for the noble Lord, Lord Willet...

My Lords, I shall dial down the rhetoric a little here. First, I want to pick up what the noble B...

The point is that the MP would be turned away, because that pass does not mean that someone can t...

The noble Lord makes an interesting point. At the 2017 election, when I was present at the normal...

My Lords, I shall speak first to my Amendment 66A and, in so doing, I draw the Committee’s attent...

My Lords, I shall make a very short point about Amendment 80. The noble Lord should look carefull...

My Lords, again I thank all those who have spoken in the debate. The noble Lord, Lord Adonis, out...

The Minister has been extremely helpful on this point. An extremely important statement has been ...

Certainly, I would hope and intend for that to be the case. I am not writing the regulations pers...

Will the Minister clarify one issue? Why is the provision to allow an application up until 5 pm o...

My Lords, we believe on the basis of our discussions that it is, and should be, practical. Whethe...

The Minister is making important new points in his closing remarks that are of significance to th...

My Lords, the Government’s policy position is clear. I will probably get wrapped over the knuckle...

My Lords, I am sorry to labour the point, but can the Minister write to us on this? It is one thi...

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords for their contributions to this lengthy debate, and the Ministe...

Moved by

Lord True

74: Schedule 1, page 72, line 12, leave out from “to” to end of li...

Moved by

Lord True

82: Schedule 1, page 80, line 37, leave out “current”

Member...