Clause 1 - Piloting conduct at european and local elections
European Parliamentary and Local Elections (Pilots) Bill
3:45 pm
Mr Christopher Leslie (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs; Shipley, Labour)
We could spend all day trying to interpret the views of my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Pollok. That would be exceptionally interesting, but I will not be tempted to do so. It is slightly odd for the Conservative party officially to suggest that there are larger personation and broad risks in Scotland than anywhere else because of its student population. That is an odd approach, which we will pocket for the time being.
Amendment No. 20 would exclude two regions with common boundaries. There is no logical or fair reason for that. I heard the comments by the hon. Member for Surrey Heath about people on different sides of the street using different voting mechanisms, but even if people on one side of a street were to have an all-postal vote while those on the other could vote conventionally, I do not believe that those people would be particularly likely to talk about that fact, or that they would be bothered by it. Even if there were such discontent, it would not be an insurmountable problem. It would be discriminatory to exclude two regions with a common boundary. Boundaries between regions should not be a factor in the success or evaluation of piloting. I hope that my hon. Friends will reject the amendment, and that hon. Members will consider withdrawing it.