Clause 12 - Sections 10 and 11: supplementary
European Parliament (Representation) Bill
3:15 pm
Ms Yvette Cooper (Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department; Pontefract and Castleford, Labour)
We should resist these amendments. The hon. Member for Stone has made important points about the power to change the law of Gibraltar. I want to set out exactly what the power is and why the amendments are inappropriate. The power set out in clause 12(4) does not allow Parliament to make any change to the law of Gibraltar. It applies only to areas where the law of Gibraltar is affected in consequence of or in connection with its inclusion in an electoral region for the purposes of European parliamentary elections. It would not give us powers relating to its other elections, for example. It would not give us power through this order to change the Gibraltarian law on unrelated issues.
Our intention would not be to change existing Gibraltarian law through orders of the Westminster Parliament. Such changes should be made by the Government of Gibraltar. We expect the Government of Gibraltar and the House of Assembly to amend their existing laws. For example, the provisions may relate to areas where there is already some Gibraltarian law and where it may be appropriate for amendments to be made by Gibraltarian law, and it will be possible and appropriate for Gibraltar to make those changes. There may be issues under section 95 of the Representation of the People Act 1983, which provides for the use of schoolrooms for candidates' public election meetings. Existing Gibraltarian law may prevent schoolrooms from being used for such purposes. We would then expect the Gibraltarian Government and the House of Assembly to address that matter through amending their law rather than by seeking to do so in the Westminster Parliament.
Where decisions are taken, we would expect them to be a matter for discussion with the Government of Gibraltar. There should be a flexible approach. It is important to maintain this power in the Bill. Until we can explore with the Government of Gibraltar all the complex detail of UK electoral law and how it can best be applied to Gibraltar, we cannot afford to risk finding that once the Bill has been enacted it is beyond our vires to make the necessary changes in secondary legislation.
There are examples in election registration of provision for extensive modifications of pre-existing election legislation in that way. It could also, for example, enable amendments to be made through order in the Westminster Parliament if the Government of Gibraltar thought that that would be easier. This might be done in the case of complex technical details that may already be the subject of change by means of orders in the Westminster Parliament; it may be simpler to include in them provisions that affect Gibraltarian law as well.
It may also cover areas in which the UK Parliament has a considerable stake. For example, matters that, if
not amended in Gibraltar, would have a significant effect in the UK. Among these are company registration and donations to political parties. If the amendments were not made in Gibraltar a company registered there could make donations to UK parties without any of the provisions of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 applying. There are issues, which, even though they concern amendments to Gibraltarian law, will, as a result of the creation of a combined region, have a significant affect on the UK. For those two reasons it is important to retain the power in the Bill to amend Gibraltarian law, even though it is our intention that wherever possible the changes should be made in the House of Assembly in Gibraltar by the Government of Gibraltar.