Voter Registration Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office
Wednesday 8th June 2016

(7 years, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Matt Hancock Portrait Matthew Hancock
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Work has been done to address the challenge of the incredibly high interest in postal voting, and resources are available to deal with those issues and make sure that everyone has the democratic right to vote. Ultimately, this is about making sure that everyone who is eligible and wants to has the opportunity to register to participate in this great festival of democracy.

Chris Heaton-Harris Portrait Chris Heaton-Harris (Daventry) (Con)
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It is very important that people have the opportunity to register to vote, but this issue has consequences not just for the referendum but for other elections. There are 4.5 million new people on the register; has the Minister thought about the consequences of that for the Boundary Commission’s drawing up of constituencies, as it will be doing so on numbers that are now completely wrong?

Matt Hancock Portrait Matthew Hancock
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The Boundary Commission is continuing its work based on the drop-dead date agreed by this House. The two issues are essentially separate.