(Except clauses Nos. 9 to 18; any new clauses or new schedules relating to part 2 or part 3 of the Bill; any new clauses or new schedules relating to the procedure to be followed at an election on the death of a candidate; and any new clauses or new schedules relating to candidates standing in more than one constituency at an election.)
Electoral Administration Bill
10:30 am
Eleanor Laing (Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, Scotland; Epping Forest, Conservative)
I, too, welcome you to the Chair, Mr. O'Hara. I am sure that the Committee will be a constructive one. We had a good debate on Second Reading. There are certain matters upon which the Opposition disagree with the Government, but they are not enormous. I look forward to dealing with those matters in Committee, and I hope that the Minister and her colleagues will listen to arguments from both sides, as she kindly and courteously said that they would. Likewise, I hope that we will achieve a degree of consensus by the end of the Committee stage, because as the Minister said, the general purport of the Bill is good and necessary, and close to all our hearts. I support the resolution of the Programming Sub-Committee.