Contributions
1,066 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDRepresentation of the People Bill (Third sitting)Does my hon. Friend recall the last Labour Government’s measures to raise the participation age? They took a very clear view that people at 16 were not mature enough to be trusted…24 Mar 2026HANSARDRepresentation of the People Bill (Third sitting)To some extent, I have another version of my earlier question. In respect of children in care, within the provision there will need to be a process for registration and, in due…24 Mar 2026HANSARDRepresentation of the People Bill (Third sitting)I understand the Minister’s point in the sense that a young person can register to vote. My question is about the logistics of how the ballot is cast. One of the challenges for…24 Mar 2026HANSARDRepresentation of the People Bill (Fourth sitting)Does my hon. Friend recall the evidence that we heard about the pilots in Wales? Auto-enrolment was implemented, and when that data was verified, a significant number of voters…24 Mar 2026HANSARDRepresentation of the People Bill (Fourth sitting)I am grateful to the Minister for her explanation in response to my earlier questions. Clause 15 says that a local authority “must take the steps the authority considers…24 Mar 2026HANSARDRepresentation of the People Bill (Third sitting)I am sure that everyone is aware that the arrangements with Ireland, for example, provide a degree of eligibility and commonality, not just in the electoral system but in all…24 Mar 2026HANSARDRepresentation of the People Bill (Fourth sitting)The Minister is addressing the pilots and how they will be learned from. My hon. Friend the Member for Broxbourne set out some broad concerns about the risks to the integrity of…24 Mar 2026HANSARDRepresentation of the People Bill (Third sitting)I have another technical question to provide clarification for the Committee. We know that there are different rules for who is eligible to vote in local elections and in general…24 Mar 2026HANSARDRepresentation of the People Bill (Fourth sitting)On the pattern of behaviour, the Minister has set out very clearly that the Government wish to rely on the independent Electoral Commission to appraise the outcome of the pilot…24 Mar 2026HANSARDRepresentation of the People Bill (Fourth sitting)My hon. Friend refers to the recent judicial review. My understanding is that, rather than losing the judicial review, the Government actually offered no defence. They conceded…24 Mar 2026HANSARDRepresentation of the People Bill (Fourth sitting)Does my hon. Friend agree that ensuring full transparency and integrity following any changes is even more important at the moment, given that the integrity of our electoral…24 Mar 2026HANSARDRepresentation of the People Bill (Fourth sitting)My hon. Friend the Member for Broxbourne made the constructive suggestion that we proceed on the basis of local authority areas for the use of the electoral roll in the local poll…24 Mar 2026HANSARDRepresentation of the People Bill (Third sitting)This is, again, a bit of a technical question, but both my hon. Friend the Member for Hamble Valley and I served previously as lead members for children’s services, and one of the…24 Mar 2026HANSARDRepresentation of the People Bill (Fourth sitting)It is not so much about election fraud off the back of this; it is more about somebody getting themselves on the electoral register and applying for a credit facility. One thing…24 Mar 2026HANSARDRepresentation of the People Bill (Fourth sitting)Although we do not have a representative from Northern Ireland on the Committee, we have had a number of debates in which a variety of these issues have been raised, and we took…24 Mar 2026HANSARDDraft Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority Regulations 2026It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. Let me say at the outset that the Opposition do not propose to divide the Committee on the regulations, because…23 Mar 2026HANSARDAsylum Seekers: AccommodationThe figures published by the Home Office show around a 7% rise in the asylum and dispersal accommodation numbers. My Hillingdon constituents would know, because we have the…23 Mar 2026HANSARDAsylum Seekers: Accommodation13. How many asylum seekers were in asylum accommodation on (a) 30 September 2025 and (b) 30 June 2024.23 Mar 2026HANSARDRepresentation of the People Bill (First sitting)I declare that I am an unpaid parliamentary vice-president of the Local Government Association, which has supplied one of the witnesses for this panel.18 Mar 2026HANSARDRepresentation of the People Bill (Second sitting)Q I have a brief question about clause 47 on the voter identification requirements. We have heard quite a lot on the point about bank cards. I am mindful that the Government’s own…18 Mar 2026