Speeches by Dixon.

“My hon. Friend tempts me to get into a debate about the efficacy of the original—”

“There are no firms on the prohibitions list. However, as I stated, the Government are prepared to use the sanctions available, should they be required in the future. I will fulfil my commitment to write to the right hon. Gentleman with the full details in due course, if he will permit me to do so. Thirdly, the draft re…”

“As the hon. Member suspected, I do not have the answer to that question to hand. It is an interesting question, and I will supply a response as soon as I can. Question put and agreed to. Clause 37 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 38 Provision of assistance by local authority officers to returning o…”

“Clauses 38 and 39 deal with returning officers. As Members will know, returning officers play a central role in delivering elections and maintaining public confidence in the democratic process. Their decisions carry significant legal and operational responsibility. Returning officers rely on the support of local author…”

“Clause 40 makes changes to the deadlines for submitting nomination papers to returning officers at elections. Currently, nomination papers may be delivered between 10 am and 4 pm on any day in the period for submitting nominations, including the final day. Under the proposals in the clause, at a UK parliamentary electi…”

“Clauses 41 and 42 strengthen the candidate nomination process by introducing new safeguards. That will protect the integrity of our elections and prevent impersonation or false nominations. Recent years have seen individuals stand for election in order to be disruptive, or as sham candidates. A recent case saw multiple…”

“To respond to the question’s from the hon. Member for Hamble Valley, we are currently finalising the details of the proposals, to make sure we strike the right balance between security and accessibility, and we will set more details out soon. We anticipate that the candidate ID check will be different from the voter ID…”

“The purpose of the clause is to enable political parties to withdraw support for candidates prior to the close of nominations, which is not currently possible. Parties will be able to take appropriate action when concerns about a candidate arise during the nomination period. Under the clause, at UK parliamentary electi…”

“The hon. Gentleman tempts me, but I will not go into that particular arena. I will say that we are taking a balanced approach and that we have discussed the issue with electoral administrators. We do not believe that this approach is going to impose administrative burdens on returning officers, and it should allow the …”

“As we have just discussed, clause 43 enables a political party to withdraw authorisation for a candidate to stand on its behalf prior to the close of nominations. Clause 44 makes provision in relation to the subscription to nomination papers as a consequence of that change. Under clause 44, if a person who has previous…”

“Clause 45 seeks to enhance the security of candidates by ensuring that candidates at UK parliamentary elections are able to receive appropriate and tailored security briefings from the police in a timely and effective manner. The clause makes provision for a new form to capture candidates’ contact details, which candid…”

“I deeply appreciate the warmth that Members have shown for these measures. As someone who also served for a short time on the Speaker’s Conference and having experienced harassment myself, as many on the Committee have, I know that this is an important measure that will protect our candidates. Operation Ford is a great…”

“I thank the hon. Member for his suggestion, which I will take away and consider carefully. I would not want to hamper the passage of information in any respect, and I would want to think through carefully with officials whether such a timescale would do that. I absolutely understand the sentiment and ambition behind ne…”

“Clause 46 removes the unnecessary and outdated requirement for polling station staff to call out the name and elector number of a voter when delivering a ballot paper. This change will bring Northern Ireland in line with practice in Great Britain. This practice can be intimidatory and unwelcome for voters, and its remo…”

“I beg to move amendment 10, in clause 47, page 60, line 18, at end insert— “, and (iii) shows when the card expires (see also paragraph (1NA)).” This amendment and Amendment 11 provide that a payment or cash withdrawal card can only be used as voter identification if the card shows when it expires and has not expired.”

“I will speak to clause 47 before turning to Government amendments 10 to 13. I will then respond to amendment 30, tabled by the Opposition, and new clause 19, tabled by the Liberal Democrats. As set out in our manifesto, the Government are committed to encouraging participation in our democracy. We believe it is unaccep…”

“I have to say that I find it quite shocking to hear Members of the official Opposition supporting the exclusion of thousands of eligible voters from the polling station. That really is shocking. This proposal represents a broadening and an enhancing of the voter ID system so that those eligible can cast their vote. It …”

“I beg to move amendment 8, in clause 30, page 40, line 30, leave out paragraph (a) and insert— “(a) in subsection (1), omit from “and except” to the end;”. This amendment and Amendment 9 correct amendments of section 201(1) of the Representation of the People Act 1983 so as not to introduce a requirement for regulation…”

“I thank all Committee members for their attendance today. We will hopefully be swift and painless as we go through our deliberations. I will turn to clause 30 first, before talking to technical Government amendments 8, 9, 19 and 20, tabled in my name. Clause 30 provides that, where the circumstances on which a declarat…”

“Electoral registration officers are responsible for maintaining accurate and complete electoral registers, which are fundamental to the integrity of elections. The clause ensures that those appointed to that role are senior officers within their authority, with the authority and accountability needed to oversee this im…”