New Clause 18
Political Parties and Elections Bill
11:45 am
Michael Wills (Minister of State, Ministry of Justice; North Swindon, Labour)
The new clause facilitates reform of the system for filling vacant European parliamentary seats in Northern Ireland. It is important because Northern Ireland does not operate a party list system. Under section 5 of the European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002, vacant seats can be filled only by having a by-election.
European elections in Northern Ireland are held under the single transferable vote form of proportional representation. Concerns have been raised with us that a by-election under that system has the potential to provide for the disproportionate representation of certain parties. That is a particular issue in the context of Northern Ireland, where proportionate representation is of real importance.
The Northern Ireland political parties and other interested groups expressed concerns about the current system and requested that the Government explore options for reform. That is why we have introduced the new clause. We have consulted all the relevant parties. They are all content with the proposals. We have consulted the chief electoral officer for Northern Ireland, who is also content. We therefore believe that people are generally content with the proposals.
Earlier this year, the Government proposed that the nominating officer of the political party in whose name the Member of the European Parliament stood when elected should be able to nominate a replacement to fill a vacant European parliamentary seat. Generally, electors vote for representatives of political parties because they support the party’s position on certain matters, in line with the party’s manifesto. However much we as individuals would all like to believe that that was otherwise, we generally accept that it is the position. Therefore, should a vacancy arise, it makes sense for that party to decide who should fill the seat.