Speeches by Holmes.

“Q Gentlemen, thank you for coming; we appreciate your time. I want to ask three questions on a range of subjects. The first is about the proposals from Government about voter identification. As you know, there is a proposal to widen the scope of the ID that can be given to a polling station, so that it does not just in…”

“Q I do not think you are the only one sitting around the table today who considers the Bill a missed opportunity, particularly when it comes to catching up on digital harms and the scrutiny that all of us as local or national politicians should be under when it comes to digital campaigning. These quotes are from your b…”

“I would never have guessed. Azzurra Moores: We are working together partly because there is a real feeling among civil society that the Bill is much too narrow in scope and does not go far enough to tackle some of the major threats to elections that we are seeing. Part of the reason we came together is the quote that y…”

“Q Minister, thank you; I know that you have had as long a day as the rest of us. I will ask you just a few questions, and the Opposition then wish to adjourn until we meet for line-by-line scrutiny. I have a couple of questions that I would like to ask you, based on the evidence that we have heard today. Part of my con…”

“I was just checking—I was not trying to catch you out. Richard Williams: Perhaps I can just add to that last point while it is top of mind. Something that came up in discussions among members of Labour International was what could be viable alternatives to the current system. Of course, we are not the first country to …”

“Q Thank you for that very thorough answer. The Bill makes provisions for a number of risk factors to be taken into account when conducting enhanced due diligence checks on donations. Do you think that they are sufficient as outlined in the legislation? Alexander Browder: Bad actors are continually evolving, and within …”

“Q Professor Bernal, do you have anything to add? Professor Bernal: I have one thing to add, and it is a very simple one: I would like the open register to be abolished—straightforwardly abolished. As a privacy expert, it seems to me that it creates more risks. In the age that we are in at the moment, we need to reduce …”

“Q Good afternoon, both of you, and welcome to the Committee. I enjoyed reading both your submissions to the Committee. It really interested me that there is clearly a desire, from both your organisations, to reduce the amount of threats and harms to active participants in the political process, and to come up with tang…”

“Q Thank you for coming to the Committee this afternoon, and for the work you do. Even though my party and I disagree with votes at 16, it is good that people are advocating for it and getting involved in this forum. My question is on votes at 16 and your daily experiences of engaging with young people on it. I have had…”

“I would be one of the people sad enough to go to the National Archives to look at them, so I am fully in favour of it. Azzurra Moores: Me too. Chris Morris: See you there.”

“Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. Notwithstanding the rulings that you have made from the Chair, which I think are always perfect and completely right, we are now entering a new period in which a Prime Minister answers a question about a subject that was not asked and then focuses on asking a question of the …”

“Thank you, and thank you for the work you have been doing.”

“Thank you. Dr Power? Dr Power: We are short on time, so I will say yes, and you can refer to my evidence. The only thing I would add is that one of the concerns we have about crypto-currency generally is its ability to supercharge donations below £500, which is underneath the check for permissibility. If that is a part…”

“Q I place on the record that I have absolutely no doubt about the Minister’s personal integrity when it comes to making sure that this legislation does the best it possibly can. But it seems unfair and unusual that as we sit on this Committee and as a review goes ahead that was asked for by the Secretary of State—off t…”

“I find it interesting that most of the people who we consider to be academics, and have made their life’s profession the integrity of the election system, are not in favour of it, but the Government are choosing to go ahead with it anyway. We will look at that further in line-by-line scrutiny. Thank you very much for y…”

“Q What problem are you trying to solve, Minister? It is certainly my contention—you may disagree with this—that most people in this country will have a passport, driving licence or a form of photographic ID, and if you are a student at college, you will have a college ID. One of the witnesses today suggested that you c…”

“Q Thank you for coming this afternoon. Welcome back, Duncan, to these hallowed halls; it has gone downhill since you were last here. I have taken great pleasure in reading all the evidence that has come in today. There are some bits I agree with—particularly from Dr Hawley and Dr Power—but there are some recommendation…”

“Q It could also be argued that if you cannot prove that there has been an increase or decrease in the amount of personation, the system is working, couldn’t it? Dr Garland: I think we would need to know what exactly is happening. We have to be very clear on what we think the problem is in the first place, and of course…”

“Q I notice that quite a considerable number of Labour Members have signed new clause 10, so let’s hope that when we get to Report, they put their money where their mouths are and vote for it, if it is selected. Very quickly, as I know other people want to ask questions, I can see why people would want to support new cl…”

“Mr Marshall, don’t feel you need to, but if you want to add something, you are more than entitled to. David Marshall: I have nothing further to add.”