Electoral Administration Bill

The noble Lord will probably find that I agree with him on a lot of the ““speak”” that creeps into our language. Customers are customers in certain circumstances, but I know exactly what the noble Lord means. It is not to do with new Labour; many organisations use it, sometimes to good effect; but occasionally I find it quite difficult. The quick answer is that my officials have discussed the amendment with Electoral Commission officials, who have confirmed that they will consult candidates, agents and parties as a matter of course when producing their evaluation. It reflects existing practice in evaluating pilots under Section 10 of the Representation of the People Act. We agree completely with the noble Lord that candidates and parties will bring useful and specific insight into the operation of pilots, and we agree that it is important that they are consulted. The commission has confirmed that it is the intention, so I hope that the noble Lord will feel happy. If he would like to discuss it further with me because he feels that it is very important to get the issue into the Bill, I am happy to talk to him about it before Report.