My Lords, I begin, as I generally do, by reminding the House of my relevant interests as a councillor and a vice-president of the Local Government Association.
I wish particularly to speak to government Amendment 34. I was quite astonished when I read it; it brings to the Bill a new issue that has not been discussed previously either at Second Reading or in Committee. I was also astonished because the amendment attempts to bypass the independence of the Electoral Commission. The commission was established to improve trust in our electoral arrangements. That is its function, and we rely on it to provide its stamp of approval for the arrangements made for elections.
To use a strong word, this is quite a pernicious amendment because it attempts to bypass the independent consultation of the Electoral Commission. I will tell the House what it says. The Bill, in its Schedule 2, currently expects the Electoral Commission to be involved in setting the arrangements for mayoral elections. On page 286, paragraph 12(4) states that
“the Secretary of State must consult the Electoral Commission”
and in sub-paragraph (5) that
“the power of the Secretary of State to make regulations … is exercisable only on, and in accordance with, a recommendation of the Electoral Commission”.
Government Amendment 34 states that the requirements in the two sub-paragraphs I have just quoted
“may be satisfied by things done before the coming into force of this paragraph”.
In other words, the Government are going to bypass those requirements. That cannot be right.
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In our democracy, which is precious in this country, we must abide by independent views: the consideration of and consultation with the Electoral Commission, which is independent, to say that the arrangements made are proper and in line with our democratic principles. I am sad to say that government Amendment 34—maybe for reasons of practicality—has the effect of undermining the independence of the Electoral Commission. If it is bypassed once it will be bypassed twice, and if it is bypassed twice we will have lost an independent Electoral Commission that ensures that our electoral arrangements are trustworthy and fulfil the democratic requirements that we in this country set great store by.
I hope that the Minister will be able to explain why the Electoral Commission is not going to be allowed to have a say on these elections, and why the Government want to bypass it and appear to want to undermine its independence. This is serious stuff, and I look forward to what she has to say.