George Howarth: I am aware that the police are investigating a number of allegations of proxy voting abuse and it would be inappropriate for me to comment on any of them specifically. The final report of the working party on electoral procedures, which I chair, is likely to include a number of recommendations on absent voting. However, as my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary made clear in an earlier...
George Howarth: My hon. Friend is right. This country has a long and proud tradition of free and fair elections without any form of corruption. Any changes that we make must uphold both the spirit and the letter of that tradition.
George Howarth: I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who has worked for a number of years to raise awareness of the problem of the number of people who do not appear on electoral registers. I assure him that we have studied the matter very carefully. An announcement will be made about it later this week.
George Howarth: As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has made clear, we are actively considering how to take this issue forward. The House voted overwhelmingly in favour of a ban on hunting in a free vote in 1997. Since then, we have been discussing ways of bringing this issue to a conclusion. We hope to make an announcement of our specific proposals soon.
George Howarth: My hon. Friend will be aware of the words of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister last week. Obviously, we will bring forward our proposals in due course, and I am sure that my hon. Friend and many others will welcome them very warmly when they appear.
George Howarth: If the opportunity permits, that is exactly what we hope to achieve. Of course, my hon. Friend is right. A large proportion of the public have repeatedly shown in polls that they favour legislation of that sort. Indeed, a majority of hon. Members have shown that they favour such legislation. For Labour Members, there will be a free vote and I hope that all the other parties will take a...
George Howarth: I can speak only for the Government when I say that the intention is that we will have a free vote. There are certainly compelling reasons why the Opposition may be persuaded that a free vote would be appropriate.
George Howarth: The right hon. Gentleman will not be surprised to learn that I will not comment on leaked documents—
George Howarth: I am grateful for your guidance, Madam Speaker. To answer the question asked by the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith), there are three options, all of which are under consideration. The first is a Government Bill, the second the possibility of a private Member's Bill and the third the possibility of an amendment to a Government Bill. At this stage, we have not adopted a...
George Howarth: The right hon. and learned Gentleman will probably not be surprised to learn that I did not attend that particular agricultural affair, but I acknowledge that there are strong feelings on both sides of the argument. Indeed, there are strong feelings on both sides of the House and they are not universally shared by members of particular parties. The truth of the matter is that the House...
George Howarth: I have to point out that the Opposition supported the principles behind the Good Friday agreement, and it is, frankly, wrong for the hon. Gentleman to condense both that issue and hunting. I am sure that he, like the rest of us, wants to see peace in Northern Ireland, and I should not have expected the hon. Gentleman to raise this issue along with that of Northern Ireland.
George Howarth: My hon. Friend and constituency neighbour makes his own point. I simply repeat what I said a few moments ago: there are strong feelings on both sides of the argument, but I hope that those who want to express strong views will do so in a non-violent and civilised way. The House is eager to debate the issue and, if we do so on those terms, we will not exercise ourselves wrongly.
George Howarth: The hon. Gentleman raises the question of a sum of money that was paid to the Labour party before the previous general election. Perhaps he and his hon. Friends would like to explain why a large sum from the same organisation was paid to the Conservative party and the Liberal Democrats. In his remarks last week, the Prime Minister was reflecting the will of the House and the view of the...
George Howarth: This has been a good debate, despite the partisan remarks of the hon. Member for South Staffordshire (Sir P. Cormack). I congratulate the Opposition on giving us the opportunity to debate an important issue which exercises us all. I join all those who have sincerely congratulated my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, Central (Mr. Benn) on his maiden speech. A few of us—my right hon. Friend...
George Howarth: I shall come to that. One person has been missing from the debate, but frequently referred to—Lord Jenkins. It is a little unfair to those who sat on his commission that it is constantly referred to as though he alone did the work. Some worthy people worked long and hard to come up with the proposals.
George Howarth: I am glad to have given the hon. Gentleman the opportunity to get that off his chest. The terms of reference of the commission were as follows: The Commission shall be free to consider and recommend any appropriate system or combination of systems in recommending an alternative to the present system for parliamentary elections to be put before the people in the Government's referendum.The...
George Howarth: I cannot give way as there are only two minutes left. The answer to when the referendum will be has been so often given today that I need not repeat it. [Interruption.] The Home Secretary has handed me a note saying "one minute", but I do not think that he means that it will be held then. We need a wider debate that goes beyond the House. The House alone cannot decide how we elect Members of...
George Howarth: I cannot wait.
George Howarth: We greatly appreciate the work of Crimestoppers, especially the way in which it allows the anonymous reporting of crime. Ministers attend Crimestoppers events to support its work whenever possible—indeed, I attended a national conference in Birmingham in November. We are holding discussions with Crimestoppers about ways in which we might work together and support it in its work.
George Howarth: I join my hon. Friend in congratulating the Greater Manchester police on the work that they do in co-operation with Crimestoppers. That kind of partnership between different agencies and the police is important if we are to combat crime successfully. I understand that Crimestoppers has not yet made any specific formal request to the Home Office for direct funding, but obviously any such...