New Clause 18
Political Parties and Elections Bill
11:45 am
Michael Wills (Minister of State, Ministry of Justice; North Swindon, Labour)
I will come to precisely that point. There is no perfect system in such a circumstance, and I stress that it is relatively unlikely that a vacancy will arise. It is possible, but most of the time Members of the European Parliament see through their full term. As we may see in further debate on the issue, the alternatives also create problems in the way that the hon. Gentleman suggests.
It makes sense for the party to decide who should fill the seat. Under that system, Members of the European Parliament who did not belong to a political party when elected could submit a list of substitutes when returned, which could be used to fill the seat and could be modified as necessary.
The proposals were the subject of a full public consultation, and they received strong support among the Northern Ireland parties and other interested groups, so new clause 18 amends section 5 of the 2002 Act to add proposed new subsection (4), enabling regulations to be made that provide for the nominating officer of the relevant political party to nominate a replacement Member of the European Parliament in the event that a European Parliament seat held by that party becomes vacant.
I should point out to the hon. Member for Isle of Wight the fact that in a democratic system voters elect Members of Parliament or Members of the European Parliament for the full term. What he suggests would in some sense compromise that principle. I recognise that the issue is difficult, and can be debated either way, but I ask him to reflect on that fundamental democratic principle. We do not shift our position on who should remain in Parliament on the basis of opinion polls. That may or may not be a good thing, but it is the system that operates.