Further written evidence to be reported to the House
Political Parties and Elections Bill
1:00 pm
Q157 1Mr. Djanogly: Thank you, Sir Nicholas. I hope that the evidence session does not produce too much information that might require amendments to the Bill. Gentlemen, I fear that you could have done better in an earlier session. I would like to address the broader issue. To date, we have been considering the nuts and bolts of the Bill. I would like us to step back for a moment and consider the Electoral Commission as a whole, which we have not yet done.
It has to be said that many hon. Members, certainly in the Conservative party and perhaps in other parties, have been reviewing the performance of the Electoral Commission in recent years and have thought it in many ways deficient. That has led quite a number of people to say that the commission should be abolished as an institution. That is not the official position of our party or any other party, as we have a Bill here to improve its performance, but that would be a valid starting point for you to give your views on whether it is a valid institution and whether the general thrust of the Bill is correct in terms of its reform, if you think that that needs to be done.