Political Parties and Elections Bill

I will try to answer the questions relatively briefly, although, given the non-contentious nature of the issues, we have had quite a lively exchange. The hon. Member for Cambridge (David Howarth) asked why the party leaders were still involved. If I may, I shall deal with the questions raised by the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart) as well. The whole point of people with electoral experience going on to the Electoral Commission is that they should bring with them not partisan affiliations or party political considerations but their experience of the political process. There has to be a selection process, and the party leaders are clearly the best placed to have an overview about who the most appropriate people in their parties will be. That should then be subject to an open competition. That seems to strike the right balance. I say to the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire that we can debate the role of the United Kingdom Parliament, and I again pay tribute to his persistence in trying to squash every issue through the prism of nationalist politics. Not everything should be seen in that way. There is still a position for the UK Parliament in the constitutional arrangements of this country, and that remains paramount, however much he would like to see it changed. This is the last exchange that he and I will have on this subject—on this particular Bill, anyway—and I would like to reassure him that, in the end, whoever emerges on to the Electoral Commission to fulfil the new roles of political commissioners will be expected to put aside partisan considerations. They will bring to bear their experience of the democratic political process in this country, and it will not matter whether they come from the Conservative party, the Liberal Democrat party, the Labour party, or, indeed, one of the smaller parties, if the hon. Gentleman will forgive my using that term. They will all be expected to put aside their partisan considerations and to bring their experience to bear. I hope that, with all that, I have given hon. Members enough to persuade them to agree to the amendments. Lords amendment 1 agreed to. Lords amendments 2 to 8, 51 to 65 and 99 agreed to.