Clause 2 - Pilot order
European Parliamentary and Local Elections (Pilots) Bill
9:15 am
Mr Teddy Taylor (Rochford and Southend East, Conservative)
Obviously, the hon. Gentleman is a new chap. How can one vote for a Conservative Member? There is no way to do that in the European elections. One can vote only for a party. It is not democracy if one cannot vote for an individual. I bet the hon. Gentleman does not know who his MEP is, as he does not follow matters to do with Europe. The plain fact is that he probably has seven or eight MEPs, depending on the region, who have been chosen by the
parties. There is no point in saying that people can vote for individuals when they cannot.
On the wider issue, this simple amendment would allow people to say, in effect: ''If I don't want to vote for any of them and I am fed up to the teeth, I want to have an the opportunity to express a view.'' People may say that one can do that anyway. How? One can certainly use bad language, and people sometimes do. I have seen ballot papers on which people have written bad words. We do not want to encourage bad language, but people do use it. They say, ''I want to say something, so I'll write a bad word.'' I will not mention the word in Committee because it would shock some Members. Alternatively, one can score through the paper or do nothing at all.
That is the present arrangement, but things are changing under the Bill. People who do not want anything to do with the elections will receive ballot papers through the post. They do not want those papers and have not asked for them, but they will get them. In our civilised society, people will probably feel that they have to send the papers back. Alternatively, someone may have a strong view, and five ballot papers may be sent to the five members of his family. Under the new arrangement, he could fill out the five ballot papers. That would be wrong, scandalous and contrary to our democracy, but it could happen.
People may feel an obligation to do something. If they do, we should give them the opportunity to say, ''I do not want any of you. I am fed up to the teeth.'' Would that achieve anything? It might convince the politicians of Britain, including members of this Committee, that something is terribly wrong with the arrangements in the European Union and with these elections.
Taking away people's power to control things is bad. Having the proposed provision could be good discipline for Members of this House. They would see that the people are fed up to the teeth. What the Government are doing instead is rather pathetic. People are showing their opinions by leaving only 25 per cent. to vote in a poll. Come the next European election that figure will probably be down to 15 per cent.
The Government are trying to sort that out by spending a great deal of money and forcing everyone to get ballot papers, whether they want them or not, by sending them through the post or using a ridiculous, expensive form of electronic voting, which is an outrageous piece of expenditure. If the Government want to do that and are going to spend all that money, they should give people the chance to say, ''I don't want any of this lot.'' That is all that I ask. At the foot of every ballot paper, we should have a box saying, ''I don't want any of you. I think that all your parties are rubbish, and even if they were any good, they haven't any power to do anything. The European Parliament is a joke.'' If I wanted to express such an opinion, how could I do it?
This provision would also be good for our democracy. If we had such boxes and allowed people to express that opinion, they might win the ballot. That may seem ridiculous, but I have a funny feeling that if we had such an option for the European parliamentary elections, the majority of people might vote for it. That would give us a message. What worries me is that most MPs do not seem to worry about the situation. They do not worry that only 25 per cent. of the electorate vote. They do not worry when I read out scandalous stories, such as the one in The Independent about €38 million being wasted scandalously and fraudulently and no one being able to do anything about it.
We should wake up and give people the power to say, ''We don't want any of you.'' I would not propose that as my point of view, because it is known that I am a loyal Conservative and usually vote for the Conservative party, unless it makes mistakes. However, we should realise that we have an obligation to the people. If we are going to force people to receive ballot papers solely for the purpose of increasing the percentage of people voting in the ballot—that is all that it is about—we should give them a chance to say, ''I don't want any of you.'' What is wrong with that? What is the argument against it? People can say that anyway by using bad language or putting a stroke through the ballot paper. The argument is reasonable. If there is an argument against it, let us hear it.
I hope that the Minister will think about the issue, instead of engaging in discussions with the people behind him. It is important for democracy. Please think about it. If the Government do not want to do what I propose, please will they tell me why? This is not a battle between Conservatives and Labour. It is an argument about democracy and people's rights. People have no rights at all just now. In our democracy, their rights have been thrown away when it comes to the European elections. We should do something to give them some power back. That is all that I ask. I hope that the Government will do that. Please will the Government think back? They have not accepted one amendment or argument. Why not think about this argument carefully? If they accept it, my confidence in democracy may be slightly restored.