Clause 22 - Nomination procedures
Electoral Administration Bill
5:15 pm
Brian Binley (Northampton South, Conservative)
It is not the raising of a deposit that matters but the danger of losing it that gives pause for thought—and so it should. The argument that we have just heard suggests that there should be no deposit at all. I argue that the deposit should give people pause for thought and make them consider whether the election is worth fighting, and certainly whether it is worth fighting from a frivolous point of view. Some people might think, ''Let's get involved in the election for a lark.'' No one can tell me that that does not happen, because a number of us have seen cases in which it has. I fear that the argument that we have heard is an argument for no deposit at all. I argue that there should be a deposit, that it should give people pause for serious thought, and that it should be of enough consequence to achieve that objective. I therefore support the amendment.