Oral Answers to Questions — Electoral Registration – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 15 December 1949.
Mr Thomas Skeffington-Lodge
, Bedford
12:00,
15 December 1949
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that, in connection with the electoral register now being compiled in Bedford and elsewhere, private persons are purporting without authority to be official checkers in the employ of the registration officer; and if he will use his powers under Section 66 (1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1948, to issue directions to the registration officer to make such arrangements as will prevent the continuation of these activities.
Mr James Ede
, South Shields
I have no information about these alleged activities, but in any event I could not usefully issue directions to the registration officer about the activities of persons not under his control.
Mr Thomas Skeffington-Lodge
, Bedford
Will my right hon. Friend say something about the right of entry into the homes of electors of official checkers? Is it not wholly irregular that Tory canvassers in some constituencies should be collecting forms in bulk and sending them to the electoral registration officer?
Mr James Ede
, South Shields
The official canvasser on behalf of the registration officer has no right of entry by virtue of his position. I think that it is undesirable that a person other than the householder concerned should collect the forms on the pretext that he is going to post them, because he might forget.
Mr Cyril Dumpleton
, St Albans
Is my right hon. Friend aware that a complaint of a similar occurrence to that mentioned in the Question has been made to me from my Constituency and that, upon inquiry, I was informed that the canvasser in question was a representative from the Conservative Central Office? Has my. right hon. Friend any influence to ensure that Tory canvassers really look like Tories?
Mr James Ede
, South Shields
I understand that the best canvasser is the person who looks as if he belongs to the other side.
Mr William Shepherd
, Bucklow
Is the Secretary of State aware that if his hon. Friend succeeded in stopping all the Conservative canvassers in his Division, he would still lose his seat?
Mr Thomas Skeffington-Lodge
, Bedford
Is my right hon. Friend aware of the fact that I am going greatly to increase my Majority?
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The political party system in the English-speaking world evolved in the 17th century, during the fight over the ascension of James the Second to the Throne. James was a Catholic and a Stuart. Those who argued for Parliamentary supremacy were called Whigs, after a Scottish word whiggamore, meaning "horse-driver," applied to Protestant rebels. It was meant as an insult.
They were opposed by Tories, from the Irish word toraidhe (literally, "pursuer," but commonly applied to highwaymen and cow thieves). It was used — obviously derisively — to refer to those who supported the Crown.
By the mid 1700s, the words Tory and Whig were commonly used to describe two political groupings. Tories supported the Church of England, the Crown, and the country gentry, while Whigs supported the rights of religious dissent and the rising industrial bourgeoisie. In the 19th century, Whigs became Liberals; Tories became Conservatives.
In a general election, each Constituency chooses an MP to represent them. MPs have a responsibility to represnt the views of the Constituency in the House of Commons. There are 650 Constituencies, and thus 650 MPs. A citizen of a Constituency is known as a Constituent
The House of Commons votes by dividing. Those voting Aye (yes) to any proposition walk through the division lobby to the right of the Speaker and those voting no through the lobby to the left. In each of the lobbies there are desks occupied by Clerks who tick Members' names off division lists as they pass through. Then at the exit doors the Members are counted by two Members acting as tellers. The Speaker calls for a vote by announcing "Clear the Lobbies". In the House of Lords "Clear the Bar" is called. Division Bells ring throughout the building and the police direct all Strangers to leave the vicinity of the Members’ Lobby. They also walk through the public rooms of the House shouting "division". MPs have eight minutes to get to the Division Lobby before the doors are closed. Members make their way to the Chamber, where Whips are on hand to remind the uncertain which way, if any, their party is voting. Meanwhile the Clerks who will take the names of those voting have taken their place at the high tables with the alphabetical lists of MPs' names on which ticks are made to record the vote. When the tellers are ready the counting process begins - the recording of names by the Clerk and the counting of heads by the tellers. When both lobbies have been counted and the figures entered on a card this is given to the Speaker who reads the figures and announces "So the Ayes [or Noes] have it". In the House of Lords the process is the same except that the Lobbies are called the Contents Lobby and the Not Contents Lobby. Unlike many other legislatures, the House of Commons and the House of Lords have not adopted a mechanical or electronic means of voting. This was considered in 1998 but rejected. Divisions rarely take less than ten minutes and those where most Members are voting usually take about fifteen. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P9 at the UK Parliament site.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
