Elections Bill

No, no, we are here.

It is a very strange thing but, quite by accident—I promise it is by accident—I happen to have my...

My Lords, I support the noble and learned Lord in his amendments, to which I have added my name. ...

My Lords, I will make three brief points in support of the amendments of the noble and learned Lo...

My Lords, we have heard three splendid speeches, and I intend to be very brief. I will pick up on...

My Lords, I rise very briefly to support the amendment put forward by the noble and learned Lord,...

My Lords, I would like to join in on all these comments about the Prime Minister’s failings, but ...

My Lords, it is always a great pleasure to follow the noble Baroness. I frequently do not agree w...

My Lords—

My Lords, it is difficult when—

I thank the noble Lord for giving me a turn.

The case for removing these two clauses has be...

My Lords, I apologise to the noble Lord, Lord Stunell, and to the House, for having pushed him so...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow my noble friend Lord Hodgson. I wish him a very happy birthd...

Hear, hear.

I wish to make two points about these amendments. I do so in the hope—but not the expectation—tha...

My Lords, I shall cover two or three points. I shall not go into detail about some of my concerns...

My Lords, my name is on these amendments. We have had a very powerful debate from all sides of th...

My Lords, we very much welcome these amendments. We thank the noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge,...

My Lords, I have not detected universal enthusiasm for these clauses in the debate, but I will se...

Would my noble friend accept that if the Government withdraw these clauses, on which there is a g...

My Lords, I can only respond to the language I heard in the debate and, of course, that will lie ...

I wonder, given what the Minister has just said, whether he could explain the purpose of new Sect...

My Lords, I say to the noble Baroness that it is not a power to direct. The Speaker’s Committee i...

Can the Minister list which Select Committees have Ministers as members?

My Lords, as the noble Lord knows, the Speaker’s Committee is sui generis. Obviously, it has seni...

I was not, in any way, impugning the Speaker’s Committee. I was picking up the point that the Min...

My Lords, I am glad that the noble Lord rose. I had started to make it clear that I was not makin...

My Lords, I thank everybody who has participated, including those Members of the House who do not...

I would just add, on a serious note, that the noble and learned Lord makes an absolutely correct ...

My Lords, on that happy note, I think we had better let the House make up its own mind. I seek th...

Moved by

Lord Judge

46: Clause 16, leave out Clause 16

Moved by

Lord True

47: Clause 19, page 29, line 24, leave out “a local government ele...

Moved by

Lord Rennard

48: Clause 19, leave out Clause 19

My Lords, after a long debate on a substantive issue, this will probably be a rather shorter, mor...

I do not have much to add to the noble Lord’s contribution. We support his contention that this i...

My Lords, as noble Lords will know, Clause 19 is there to clarify the law on benefits in kind and...

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for those warm words and his reassurance, and for his eng...

Moved by

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts

49: Clause 20, page 31, line 20, leave out “o...

My Lords, I shall also speak to Amendments 54 and 56. Amendments 49 and 54 are paving amendments,...

My Lords, I rise briefly to welcome and support the noble Lord. Throughout the stages of the Bill...

My Lords, one of the charming aspects of your Lordships’ House is that when a Minister is being c...

Moved by

Lord True

50: Clause 21, page 31, line 30, leave out “a local government ele...

Moved by

Baroness Noakes

51: Clause 22, page 32, line 14, leave out “party’s assets/l...

My Lords, in moving Amendment 51 I will also speak to Amendments 52 and 53 in this group, and I c...

My Lords, I welcome the amendments tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, to highlight the im...

My Lords, Amendments 51, 52 and 53 were tabled by my noble friend Lady Noakes, whom I thank for s...

Moved by

Baroness Noakes

52: Clause 22, page 32, line 17, leave out “party’s assets/l...

Moved by

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts

54: Clause 25, page 35, leave out lines 27 to...

Moved by

Lord True

55: Clause 26, page 36, line 34, at end insert—

“(10) An ord...

My Lords, Clause 26 allows the Secretary of State to lay legislation before Parliament to amend t...

My Lords, I will be very brief again. I accept that, in Committee, I went on at length about this...

Moved by

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts

56: After Clause 27, insert the following new...

Moved by

Lord True

57: Clause 28, leave out Clause 28

Member’s explanatory stat...

Moved by

Lord Clement-Jones

58: Clause 40, page 50, line 33, leave out “reasonably pr...

My Lords, I rise to move Amendment 58 and speak to Amendments 60, 61, 62 and 65. The amendments i...

My Lords, I have an amendment in this group—Amendment 59, previously tabled in Committee as Amend...

My Lords, we had a lengthy debate on this in Committee and I accepted what the noble Baroness the...

My Lords, the Elections Bill, let us not forget, will introduce one of the most comprehensive dig...

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his response and for engaging rather more carefully with the a...

Moved by

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts

59: After Clause 46, insert the following new...

My Lords, like the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, I am disappointed by my noble friend’s respons...

My Lords, it is not possible to withdraw at this point; I must technically put the question. No o...

I beg leave to withdraw.

Moved by

Baroness Hayman of Ullock

63: After Clause 60, insert the following new Clau...

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Wallace of Saltaire, and the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett ...

My Lords, my name is on Amendment 63. I strongly support it and I trust the House will give it it...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman of Ullock, and the noble Lor...

My Lords, I strongly support my noble friend’s amendment, although I do not think it goes to the ...

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Lords who have already spoken. I will speak ...

Is the noble Lord not aware that Report is for short, sharp speeches, not this endless diatribe h...

I am very grateful to the noble Lord for his observation. I am sure that members of the public wo...

My Lords, the purpose of Report is to report back on things that were inadequately dealt with in ...

My Lords, I have added my name to the amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, and I really need...

My Lords, I was thinking that others would wish to intervene, but that does not appear to be the ...

Before the Minister sits down, may I confirm what he said? I wrote down his words: “The Governmen...

My Lords, again, I think that is a false question. In our democracy an independent person is enti...

My Lords, it has been very clear from the debate we have just had and the other amendments that h...

Moved by

Baroness Hayman of Ullock

64: After Clause 60, insert the following new Clau...

My Lords, our Amendment 64 looks to bring in one of the recommendations that came from PACAC arou...

My Lords, I was delighted to sign this and could see from the Minister’s face that he was thoroug...

My Lords, I support this amendment. It is about as modest as it could be without doing anything. ...

My Lords, I rise to support Amendment 64, so ably moved by my noble friend. It is an inoffensive ...

My Lords, the Government agree in principle that there is a strong case for the consolidation of ...

My Lords, I always do my very best to be inoffensive, so it is nice to know that my amendment has...

Moved by

Baroness Hayman of Ullock

69A: After Clause 60, insert the following new Cla...

My Lords, this amendment was not tabled in Committee. This is the first time we have looked at it...

My Lords, elections and donations are about choice. People who have non-dom status choose not to ...

My Lords, I fear that I am not going to be able to allow the noble Baroness to remain in her seat...

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Rennard, for his support and for his excellent speech. I thank the M...

Moved by

Lord True

69C: Before Clause 61, insert the following new Clause—

“Rev...

My Lords, I shall speak also to Amendment 69D. I believe both amendments are significant to the H...

My Lords, in Committee I tabled Amendment 205 to ask the Government to include in the Bill a stat...

Moved by

Lord True

69D: Clause 64, page 67, line 18, after “24” insert “, 27”

M...

Moved by

Lord Stunell

71: Clause 65, page 68, line 17, at end insert—

“(3A) Reg...

My Lords, Amendment 71, in my name and that of my noble friend Lord Wallace of Saltaire, relates ...

My Lords, I simply say that I thought that that was a masterly exposition by the noble Lord, Lord...

My Lords, I should declare an interest. I have two sisters, one of whom left Britain 60 years ago...

My Lords, we are nearing the end of this debate on Report. I cannot say that this Elections Bill ...

I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Stunell, for his excellent introduction to this amendment. It is...

My Lords, I will first answer the questions from the noble Lord, Lord Stunell. I am sorry that he...

May I remind the Minister that it is part of the responsibilities of our consuls abroad to look a...

Then we come to somebody who was born in the UK and has been here only a short time. The current ...

Will the Minister develop her point about the repayment of postal charges? Perhaps she could expl...

I cannot at the moment. It may be part of the burdens that will be financed for local authorities...

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Scott, for her reply and for the much greater level of...