"My noble friend referred to the long period of time leading up to a general election. However, the moment a Member is referred to the Standards Committee, the whole thing will be under discussion in the constituency. Therefore, there is no need for eight weeks. People do not need eight …..." Lord Hughes of Woodside - View Speech
"I ask the Minister, since I am no longer involved in the question of postal voting, what is now the time between polling day and the granting of postal votes?..." Lord Hughes of Woodside - View Speech
"I am sorry, but the Minister just told us how he brought all this legislation through the House and now he cannot even remember what it was about...." Lord Hughes of Woodside - View Speech
"If there is a petition with only one question on it and you sign the petition, everyone must know how you have voted. The idea of secrecy is nonsense. If people sign the petition, it must be known that they have done so, and then we know how they will …..." Lord Hughes of Woodside - View Speech
"My Lords, I have been thinking very carefully about this idea of the wording in the Bill. As the wording is in the Bill, someone who gets the petition has the choice either to sign it or not to take part in the petition process. In other words, it is …..." Lord Hughes of Woodside - View Speech
"My Lords, the percentage of people required to trigger the by-election is certainly a very serious matter. As the noble Lord, Lord Hamilton, has said, the issue of recall will probably not be decided by the constituents themselves, although they are the ones who will sign the petition. It will …..." Lord Hughes of Woodside - View Speech
"I agree wholly with the Minister that those who wish to promote a recall should know at the start of the signing period what the total number is so that they can calculate how many people they have to get to sign. However, will he give an undertaking that there …..." Lord Hughes of Woodside - View Speech
"Listening to the Minister’s explanation raises a number of questions. The answer to this may be in the Bill and, if it is, I apologise: what happens if, after the results have been declared, it is discovered that there has been a serious breach of conditions and that money has …..." Lord Hughes of Woodside - View Speech
"I am afraid that the Minister misunderstood what I said. The recall provision can be triggered only if one of the three things is invoked—there is no question about that. It then goes to the petitions commissioner—no question about that. However, the Minister and I, and indeed all noble Lords …..." Lord Hughes of Woodside - View Speech
“After Clause 13, insert the following new Clause … ‘Early publication of number of signatories … (1) Petition officers shall not make public a running total of signatories to a recall petition until the final result is announced … (2) Any …..." Lord Hughes of Woodside - View Speech