Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Tyler (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Tuesday, 3 November 2009.

Electoral Commission: Weekend Polling

Question: My Lords, I am truly grateful to the Minister, unusually, for that reply. Will he confirm that it is the Government’s overall intention to seek ways to increase participation in elections, particularly in parliamentary elections, because that is so crucial to the future of our democracy? Will he therefore take this opportunity to say in straight terms that the proposals of officials in the Ministry of Justice to the Treasury that there should be restrictions on the number of hours for polling and a marked reduction in the number of polling stations, particularly in rural areas, are dead and buried? Will he also confirm that Mr Straw said that these proposals were completely unknown to Ministers? In those circumstances, can he explain what would have happened if they had gone to the Treasury without being leaked? Would the Treasury then have sought to implement them without reference to Ministers?

Answer: My Lords, as my right honourable friend the Justice Secretary made absolutely clear on Friday, the document referred to by the Times newspaper was a working paper produced by officials collating ideas for further consideration. It does not represent agreed government policy. Had Ministers seen the proposals, officials would have been informed that many of them were simply unacceptable. They will not be developed any further.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 714 c120
Session: 2008-09
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Elections Opening hours Polling stations Voting behaviour Public consultation
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk