Clause 6 - Combination of polls
Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Bill
5:00 pm
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede and Weybridge, Conservative)
I think that I will treat that as a slip of the tongue, Mr. Benton. The logical conclusion to the hon. Gentleman's argument is that we should have compulsory elections and 100 per cent. turnouts.
The Minister is required to make a decision on the level of interest. The Minister for Local Government and the Regions said this morning that if the turnout were very low—he was not prepared to specify how low ''very low'' might be—the Minister would have got it wrong and have been shown to have made a wrong call. If a referendum were called on the basis of a ministerial judgment that there was a substantial amount of interest, and the referendum were then conducted on the same day as a general election, it would be impossible to validate the Minister's decision.
Several hon. Members rose—