Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill

No, but we had a debate about whether the referendum should take place next May. If it does, it will be on the same day as the local authority elections. The Committee made a decision about the day on which it wanted the elections to take place—5 May. Amendment (c) to new schedule 2 deals with the colour of the ballot paper. The current wording of new schedule 2 matches the version that is used in existing combination legislation, which has worked well for several years. The first sub-paragraph of amendment (c) is unnecessary. We do not believe that it is appropriate to give the chief counting officer first choice of colour for the ballot paper for the referendum, partly because of showing respect to the other polls on that day. I cannot remember who raised the point, but there may well be custom and practice about the colour of ballot papers for particular elections in different parts of the UK. We think it appropriate to allow returning officers to continue with their usual custom and practice and to choose a different colour for the ballot paper for the referendum to make it easy for voters to tell the papers apart. Much to my surprise, amendment (d) is one of two topics on which I agree with the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann). The flexibility that we have allowed on combining poll cards would allow counting officers to make local decisions, which reflect conditions on the ground. There may be particular reasons for that. Returning officers have adduced logistical reasons why printers, distributors and sometimes other administrators cannot combine poll cards. It is not sensible to legislate for something that cannot be delivered on the ground. Our proposals are more sensible and leave the decisions in the hands of officials who can respond to local conditions. On ballot boxes, my hon. Friend the Member for Burnley (Gordon Birtwistle), who is in his place, made the point well that we want to allow flexibility for administrators to do what makes sense. In some places, where there is only a small polling station, multiple ballot boxes might constitute overkill. Even if there are separate ballot boxes, one cannot guarantee that papers from the election or the referendum do not go into the other ballot box. One must therefore still take all the papers out, separate and verify them. Again, it is much more sensible to leave that decision to administrators, who can take account of local circumstances. On amendment (g), which deals with the register, I again agree with the hon. Member for Bassetlaw. Our approach permits but does not require registers to be combined. Again, that is the standard practice for combined polls. Amendment (g) would add much extra complexity and force counting officers to maintain and mark several separate registers. Those decisions should be made locally. As has been said, local people have to run the election, and they will make sensible decisions. The right hon. Member for Belfast North (Mr Dodds) spoke about counting, and amendment (j) deals with counting priority. We do not believe that it is necessary. Government amendments on combination already provide that returning officers must count the votes for the elections as soon as practicable after receiving the separated ballot papers from the counting officer. The chief counting officer has a power of direction over the timing of the referendum count. We have made it clear, as has the chief counting officer—the chairman of the Electoral Commission—that the votes in the referendum on the voting system are expected to be counted after those in the elections. Verification was mentioned, and it must conclude before any count is declared, but it is not necessary for it to conclude before the counts start. The election counts can therefore start straight away, but they cannot conclude until the verification of both the elections and the referendum is done to ensure that all ballot papers have been accounted for. Amendment (i) deals with Members of Parliament attending counts. As drafted, the amendment is flawed because it would allow Members of Parliament to attend the counts for local authority, mayoral and parish council elections and the local government referendums, but it would not allow them to attend the count for the referendum on the voting system for the House of Commons. I do not think that the amendment reflects the intention of the hon. Member for Rhondda. I expect the count for the referendum on the voting system for the House not to take place until Monday 9 May, because of prioritising the elections and our respect for the fact that in Northern Ireland counts do not usually take place on Sundays. Of course, on Monday 9 May, Members of Parliament will not be able to attend counts because they will be in the House attending to their important parliamentary duties. If Members of Parliament do not have important parliamentary duties in the House, they could attend counts in the usual way, either by applying to the Electoral Commission to become accredited observers or by being appointed by a permitted participant—one of the political parties—as a referendum agent. Amendment (i) is therefore unnecessary.