Contributions
1,152 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDElections Bill (Seventh sitting)Again, I just want to echo the points made from the Labour Front Bench. This is advice that I think all of us identify as best practice. All of us want to ensure the integrity of…19 Oct 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Seventh sitting)I will echo many of the hon. Lady’s points. The renewal of a postal vote comes up on an annual basis when the check of who is registered at the household comes through the post.…19 Oct 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Seventh sitting)This is a very reasonable request from the Opposition. One of the most robust evidence sessions we had was when we discussed the impact of the Bill on minority groups and people…19 Oct 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Seventh sitting)I am sorry—they absolutely could not. First, I do not accept the force of the previous argument, although I accept the Committee’s decision to reject the amendment. Secondly,…19 Oct 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Seventh sitting)I just want to expand slightly on the point I made in my intervention. If the opposition to the use of poll cards in the discussion on the previous amendment was because of the…19 Oct 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Seventh sitting)One of the key arguments for introducing the principle of voter identification was that people needed to show ID when they were picking up a parcel from the post office. These are…19 Oct 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Seventh sitting)I do beg your pardon—it was the hon. Member for Peterborough. They will need to fix the lighting for the next round of parliamentary photographs. I do apologise, but the point…19 Oct 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Seventh sitting)I was inspired to say a few words, not least by your intervention, Sir Edward. I pay tribute to both Sir David Amess and James Brokenshire, whom I held in the highest regard. I…19 Oct 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Eighth sitting)The Minister said that the Government are not removing existing protections, but that is exactly what they are doing. They are literally removing the existing provisions in the…19 Oct 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Eighth sitting)It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Ali. The amendment, which was tabled in my name and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Argyll and Bute, is pretty…19 Oct 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Eighth sitting)I beg to move amendment 60, in clause 8, page 11, leave out lines 16 to 27 and insert— “(a) in paragraph (3A)(b), for ‘a device’ substitute ‘equipment’; (b) after paragraph…19 Oct 2021HANSARDTopical QuestionsIn 2014, the no campaign warned that, if Scotland voted for independence, it would lead to higher energy prices, an end to freedom of movement and empty supermarket shelves. Can…23 Sept 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Fifth sitting)Is it not precisely the point that the EU referendum was not swung by a voter fraud of fake leave voters turning up and stuffing the ballot boxes, but by the voter fraud of…22 Sept 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Fifth sitting)Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?22 Sept 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Fifth sitting)It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I echo the welcomes to the Minister and Members who have joined the Committee. The phrase “voter ID is a…22 Sept 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Fifth sitting)Absolutely. However, we have repeatedly heard, throughout all the evidence sessions and debates, that when personation has been identified it has been called out and punished, the…22 Sept 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Fifth sitting)Absolutely. It will put up barriers and make that democratic participation more difficult and more challenging.22 Sept 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Fifth sitting)That is incredibly helpful. People across the country with expired passports will be breathing a sigh of relief, unlike the people across the country who, for whatever reason, do…22 Sept 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Fifth sitting)The hon. Member is absolutely right. Precisely those concerns have been raised by Age UK, which quotes the Cabinet Office’s own research as showing that “2% of people aged over…22 Sept 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Fifth sitting)Thank you, Sir Edward. I think there is a slight difference between someone voluntarily taking part in different parts of the economy and someone exercising their fundamental…22 Sept 2021