Electoral Spending Limits: Wales

Baroness Humphreys Excerpts

Wednesday 6th September 2017 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Humphreys]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will encourage the Electoral Commission to review electoral spending limits in Wales.

[Baroness Humphreys (LD)]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In doing so, I declare an interest as chair of a constituency party in Wales.

[Lord Young of Cookham (Con)]

My Lords, it is for the Electoral Commission, as an independent body, to decide whether to review spending limits for candidates, political parties and third-party campaigners at elections in Wales. Spending limits can be amended only in secondary legislation, in line with inflation or on the recommendation of the Electoral Commission. The type of expenses that count towards a spending limit are set out in primary legislation but could be amended in secondary legislation.

[Baroness Humphreys]

I thank the noble Lord. In many constituencies in Wales, all political parties communicate with their electorate using bilingual literature, reflecting respect for both languages of Wales and allowing voters to access information in the language of their choice. The cost of the larger paper size required together with translation costs, although happily borne by local parties, sees some constituencies sailing perilously close to the spending limits. Will the Minister encourage the commission to introduce an allowance to reflect these extra costs?

[Lord Young of Cookham]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her question. She may know that the Electoral Commission has recommended exactly what she has just proposed; namely, that the costs associated with translating from Welsh into English or vice versa should be exempted from the limits on candidates and political parties. As from next year, under the Wales Act, responsibility for taking this forward for elections to the Welsh Assembly and local elections in Wales will rest with the Welsh Assembly, which will be able to do exactly what the noble Baroness has outlined. Parliamentary elections in Wales are a reserved matter but, as I say, the Government are broadly sympathetic to these recommendations. The next scheduled parliamentary election is not until 2022—