Clause 1 - Piloting conduct at european and local elections
European Parliamentary and Local Elections (Pilots) Bill
2:15 pm
Mr Tom Harris (Glasgow Cathcart, Labour)
I have some sympathy with the argument of the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr. Heath), which is that the pilot postal ballot should take place over the whole country. His argument, however, that we could then compare turnout with that of five years ago is flawed. Political climates change and the comparison would not be valid. He must recognise that to decide whether postal voting is a success, it would be far more valid to compare turnout in adjacent European regions where one region has a postal ballot and the other has a traditional polling station ballot.