Clause 4
Political Parties and Elections Bill
10:30 am
Michael Wills (Minister of State, Ministry of Justice; North Swindon, Labour)
I join the hon. Lady in welcoming you to the Chair, Sir Nicholas. In the weeks ahead, I am sure that we shall all benefit from your deft and wise guidance through proceedings on this important Bill.
I also join the hon. Lady in paying tribute to the work of Sam Younger at the Electoral Commission. He had a distinguished career in the BBC, which he followed by making an important contribution to the work of a significant body in our public life. I pay tribute to him as he retires.
Once again I join the hon. Lady, this time in welcoming Jenny Watson to the chair of the commission. I am sure that she will follow her distinguished predecessor in an appropriate manner.
Sadly, after joining the hon. Lady in so much, I must begin proceedings by resisting her amendment, although I welcome the spirit in which she moved it, and our side of the Committee welcomes probing amendments and the opportunity to clarify still further our intentions in the Bill.
The amendment would alter the clause that covers the selection of prospective electoral commissioners and specify that appointments must be in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments code of practice. Each person whose appointment is proposed in a motion for appointment as an electoral commissioner has to be selected in accordance with a procedure put in place and overseen by the Speaker’s Committee. The practical effect of the amendment would be to impose an obligation on the Speaker’s Committee to select electoral commissioners, including nominated commissioners, through open competition, in line with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments guidelines.
Although electoral commissioner appointments are not OCPA regulated, I agree that the process must command public confidence—clearly, we can all agree on that. The individuals selected should be those who have demonstrated that they best match the skills, knowledge, practical experience and personal qualities required for the appointment in question.
Previous electoral commissioners have always been selected on the basis of open competition. We note that the Committee on Standards in Public Life has recommended that commissioners with political backgrounds should, similarly, be selected by open competition, but in respect of these particular commissioners, we believe that party leaders are in the best position to judge those within their parties who would be best placed to assist the commission to become more politically aware. That is why we have included the provisions that will enable the leaders of the qualifying parties to put forward names for consideration as nominated commissioners. From the names put forward, the Speaker’s Committee will select the best candidates on merit.
I hope that the hon. Lady is not suggesting that the leaders of political parties are automatically disqualified, by virtue of their office, from selecting the candidates best suited to fill those appointments.