Public Trust in National Politics Debate
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Lord Pack
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Public Trust in National Politics
Lord Pack Excerpts(1 day, 9 hours ago)
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Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)
My Lords, let us have the Lib Dem Benches.
Lord Pack (LD)
My Lords, is not a key element of trust in politics that elections are run fairly and independently? Therefore, I hope that the Minister might commit to restoring the full independence of the Electoral Commission and repealing the power for a Government of any political persuasion to set the policy and strategic direction for the commission. Is not an independent regulator a far more trustworthy regulator?
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
My Lords, the noble Lord raises an interesting point, and I will write to him about the details of it. Obviously, one of the basic tenets of the British values I have talked about is free and fair elections. Making sure that the Electoral Commission can facilitate those across the United Kingdom is very important.