Committee (5th Day)

Part of Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill – in the House of Lords at 6:15 pm on 15 December 2010.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Lord Soley Lord Soley Labour 6:15, 15 December 2010

I do not want to continue the discussions that we have had other than to close them down. This is all the fault of my old and noble friend Lord Gilbert, with whom I had the great pleasure to be an international observer at the first free elections in Mongolia, which was quite an experience for both of us-and an even bigger experience for the Mongolians. I should say, in case I misled the House or the Minister, that I did not intend to imply-and I do not think that I implied-that the Electoral Commission was passive, which was the word that he used. I simply tried to describe the dilemma facing organisations such as the Electoral Commission as to whether Parliament should make more detailed rules, or whether they should make them and keep things on a very simple basis. That is a very important debate, but it is one that we get to under Clause 9.