Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Bill
(Limited Text - Ministerial Extracts only)
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Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
My Lords, I thank all Members of both Houses for their hard work in progressing this Bill. The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, and it is essential that we take the necessary steps to ensure that voting is as accessible as possible for all constituents. I am sure that your Lordships’ House is united in both praise and gratitude for the electoral staff across this country on whom all our democratic rights and freedoms depend.
On this side of the House, we welcome the Bill. It was first proposed under the last Conservative Government and it takes important steps to improve voting accessibility in Scotland and Wales. It also builds on strong foundations, not least the Elections Act 2022. The Act made real progress in strengthening the security of our democracy, including the requirement for digital imprints on online campaign materials.
This Bill implements significant measures to ensure that those who may have accessibility requirements are best equipped to exercise their democratic rights. It is right to make the voting process as seamless as possible for those who may be disabled or have particular challenges; allowing them to register digitally for absent voting takes large steps to ensure that this is the case. However, effective fraud checks are needed for both paper and electronic absent vote applications. Safeguarding the integrity of elections is a core duty of government, and Ministers must act decisively to modernise the system and block malign influence, whether that be domestic or from foreign powers.
That is why I welcome the Government’s stated commitment to working closely with the Electoral Commission and others to protect the integrity, security and effectiveness of UK elections and referendums. I urge them to ensure that this is not just rhetoric but reality.
I welcome the provisions of the Bill to ensure devolved voting in Scotland and Wales is in clear alignment with the electoral procedure for the UK-wide elections. The Bill provides Ministers of the Crown and the Scottish and Welsh Governments with powers to regulate how the service is used. This will enable Ministers to provide for and address any issues they may have, whether it be partial completion of applications, signatures or evidence requirements, in a manner they deem most fitting. I support different Governments and legislatures being better equipped to make policy choices for their respective jurisdictions. However, I hope that a large degree of alignment can occur between Governments as far as practically possible to ensure the smooth administration of elections.
While supportive of the provisions the Bill contains to make voting more accessible and efficient, I strongly caution the Government to cease their plans to weaken voter ID requirements. Of course, we should make every effort possible to ensure that voting is made as accessible as possible to all in our democracy, but I urge the Government to think again. The trade-off from loosening the voter ID requirements is simply not worth the considerable risk this would pose to the integrity of the voting process.
In conclusion, we on this side of the House are pleased to be in unity with the Government’s stance on the Bill. The Conservative Party is, and will always remain, the champion of democracy and supports any legislation that empowers people’s democratic rights. That said, we should be cautious of any legislation which could jeopardise the reliability or security of that precious democratic process. I hope the Government take these considerations seriously and work closely with the Electoral Commission to ensure the democratic system operates effectively and with integrity, so that we can all continue to enjoy the rights and freedoms it provides.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (Lord Khan of Burnley) (Lab)
My Lords, I begin with a few words of thanks, first to my honourable friend in the other place, the Member for Edinburgh North and Leith, who has worked very hard in bringing this important Bill through the other place and to this noble Chamber. I also extend thanks to my noble friend Lord Murphy of Torfaen. His introductory speech has made clear the benefits of the Bill, and his commitment to working to support it through this Chamber is clear.
I thank all noble Lords for being here today to discuss this important legislation. Postal and proxy voting is an important enabler of democratic participation, one we are proud to champion, and I am pleased to see there is interest across the Chamber in these measures.
The Government share my honourable friend’s commitment to the Bill. At this moment in time, voters in Scotland and Wales can use the online absent vote application service to apply for postal and proxy votes, but only for reserved elections, such as to the UK Parliament. If those same voters in Scotland and Wales wish to use the new online service to apply for an absent vote for a devolved election, then they will find themselves unable to do so. This means any voter in Scotland or Wales who wishes to apply for a postal or proxy vote in a devolved parliamentary or local election still needs to complete a paper application form.
The Bill creates a legal framework to give voters in Scotland and Wales an equal choice in how they apply for their absent voting arrangement for use in Senedd Cymru, the Scottish Parliament and local elections in Scotland and Wales. The Bill also includes some changes to align application procedures, as my noble friend has outlined.
To bring these services online, further regulations will be designed and delivered by the Scottish and Welsh Governments, who have responsibility for devolved elections. There are clear benefits to introducing the online absent vote application services to voters in Scotland and Wales for devolved elections, for both electors and administrators.
By introducing these services, people in Scotland and Wales will get the choice to apply online for a postal or proxy vote for devolved parliamentary and local elections, as well as retaining the existing option for electors to apply using a paper application, if they wish to do so. One such clear benefit is the removal of the need for duplicate applications to be made by electors if they desire an absent vote for both devolved and reserved elections. This means that electors will spend less time making applications, and administrators will spend less time processing them. The Bill has been welcomed by the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and those working in the Scottish and Welsh electoral sectors.
I will now quickly respond to some of the points that noble Lords have raised. In particular, the noble Lords, Lord Rennard, Lord Hayward and Lord Mott raised consolidation of electoral law. While we understand the calls for consolidation of electoral law, major reform would require careful consideration and an extensive amount of time. A full-scale consolidation and simplification would require an in-depth review and modernisation alongside consolidation; to achieve this would be the job of more than one Parliament.
This Government have an ambitious agenda to improve our elections, including giving 16 and 17 year-olds the right to vote in all elections and strengthening the rules around donations to political parties. We are focused on delivering that agenda. However, we are cognisant of the challenges facing elections teams and will continue to look at areas which help to modernise and improve electoral process and delivery.
The noble Baroness, Lady Smith of Llanfaes, made a point about automatic registration. We are taking action and laying the foundations to make the registration process simpler and more automated in the coming years. Moving to an automated registration system will happen gradually and will take time. We intend to actively explore and test new and more automated methods of registration. For example, in Wales, the Welsh Government are already piloting approaches to automatic registration, and we will eagerly await the results of those pilots.
The point about a national registration day in schools and colleges is an important one. I assure the noble Baroness that I will take that away to my colleagues in the Department for Education to make that representation and see what more they can do to promote registration among 16 and 17 year-olds, and even 18 year-olds, in the future, so they have more awareness and education of this.
The noble Lord, Lord Rennard, is right to remind me of what I said about the policy and guidance statement, and my voting record. However, I say absolutely clearly to the House that an independent Electoral Commission which discharges its duties without fear or favour is vital for public confidence in our democracy. The Electoral Commission remains operationally independent, with electoral commissioners and the commission’s executive leadership responsible for determining how the commission should discharge its duties, including its strategic priorities and day-to-day operations.
The action we are taking to strengthen enforcement of the political finance framework will mean significant new powers and responsibilities for the Electoral Commission as a regulator. In light of these new responsibilities, the Government intend to designate a new strategy and policy statement for the Electoral Commission, to reflect the Government’s priorities for elections and the commission’s increased roles and responsibilities.
To conclude, as my noble friend has mentioned, the Bill requires further legislation to be made through the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments. The Scottish and Welsh Governments alone have the responsibility to make any decisions relating to implementation. We recognise the drivers behind any decision that the Scottish and Welsh Governments may make, including the importance of communicating clearly with electors, and maintaining the Gould principle as much as possible, to reduce the risk of critical errors undermining electoral integrity.
Regardless of the implementation timetable, the Bill lays the essential foundation for this service to come online for future devolved elections. We will continue to work closely with the Scottish and Welsh Governments moving forward, including on technical aspects of the Bill’s implementation.
I very much hope that all noble Lords will support this important Bill before us today.