Schedule 2
Political Parties and Elections Bill
1:45 pm
Nick Ainger (Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, Labour)
Amendment No. 1 might seem to be a complete contradiction of the argument that I was advocating earlier when we were trying to prevent a move towards criminal sanctions rather than civil sanctions. However, it seems that the process under schedule 2 means that an individual who believes himself to be innocent of a charge brought by the Electoral Commission has to go through a long and drawn-out process, and that no alternative to that process is set out in the schedule.
My amendment suggests that an individual can make a representation to the Electoral Commission and may
“by notice require the Commission to withdraw the notice and pursue the matter as a criminal offence under the relevant provisions.”
Having an alternative provision to the procedures under the schedule could deal with one of the issues raised by the hon. Member for Huntingdon. Many people are concerned about the fact that someone might be accused of an offence and, that a long time will be taken to resolve such matters during which time the individual is under an extremely dark cloud. In such circumstances, a penalty might have been imposed on an individual who may not be guilty of an offence.
Let us suppose that an individual could say to the commission, “I believe that I am innocent and I want my chance to prove it as quickly as possible. If you believe that I am guilty of such offences, let us argue them out in court where the provision of proof is beyond reasonable doubt rather than proceedings taking place on the balance of probabilities that the commission will use.” That option would be fairer on the individual and possibly address the speed with which an accusation is properly addressed and ultimately resolved.