EU Referendum: Voter Registration
Debate between Lord Tebbit and Lord Bridges of Headley(7 years, 11 months ago)
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Lord Bridges of Headley
We have continued to ensure that those who live overseas are fully aware of their rights regarding the referendum and registering to vote.
Lord Tebbit (Con)
My Lords, is it not clear, even to the Liberal Benches, that it is perfectly rational for any individual to leave his registration until something closely approaching the deadline? Of course, it is equally rational for the system to assume that most people will not be that silly, so what has been done now is correct. It is a proper response to a problem which could not reasonably have been foreseen. I am grateful to my noble friend for the action that he and his colleagues have taken.
Lord Bridges of Headley
I thank my noble friend for that. There was extensive testing of the website, but I remind your Lordships of the unprecedented demand which, as my noble friend said, we now need to remedy.
House of Commons: Ministers
Debate between Lord Tebbit and Lord Bridges of Headley(8 years, 5 months ago)
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Lord Bridges of Headley
Of course I understand the interest that the noble Baroness has in this issue, and she is quite entitled to ask this question. Taxpayer-funded Short money has risen year on year from £6 million in 2010-11 to £9 million in 2015-16. That is a 48% rise. Subject to confirmation by Parliament, the Government propose to reduce Short money allocations by 19%. This will save in the region of £10 million. Under these proposals, state funding to opposition parties will be greater than the special adviser pay bill.
Lord Tebbit (Con)
Will my noble friend say whether he has heard whether there is any suggestion to increase the number of hours sat by the House of Commons to make it a full-time affair instead of a part-time one?
Lord Bridges of Headley
As always, my noble friend makes a very interesting point. I am sure that the other place will listen to his words with interest.