Voter Registration Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office
Wednesday 8th June 2016

(8 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Matt Hancock Portrait Matthew Hancock
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Again, I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s support. On the question of bringing forward legislation, we are still in discussions with the Electoral Commission. It has stated that it would support a legislative approach, which I warmly welcome. It is important to remember that the unprecedented success of our registration drive led to the amount of people trying to register late last night, which caused the technical problems.

Anne Main Portrait Mrs Anne Main (St Albans) (Con)
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At 9 o’clock last night the Prime Minister debated with the leave side for an hour, which caused a surge at 10 o’clock in people wanting to vote. Extending the registration period for a short time would be far better than trying to bring through rushed legislation. Give it a few hours today, give people notice of it, and get on with it.