"Pitching defence against development is utterly short-sighted—it is a totally misjudged binary. These aid cuts make us all less secure. The Foreign Secretary has talked about this as a difficult choice; in fact, it is the wrong choice. Let us be clear: under this Labour Government, we are seeing deeper …..." Ellie Chowns - View Speech
"Q I would like to return to the question of your experience of having the franchise extended to 16 and 17-year-olds, and particularly to the topic of political literacy. You have given a few examples of work there. What conversations are happening nationally to ensure maximum co-ordination and investment …..." Ellie Chowns - View Speech
"Q Mr Bentley, having made that statement, do you agree that automatic voter registration makes it easier for people to participate in the democratic process?
Councillor Bentley: Yes, it does, but don’t forget that we have the right not to vote in this country. I make the same point …..." Ellie Chowns - View Speech
"Q Mr Bentley, I was really struck that you said twice in your answers that anything that makes voting easier for people has to be a good thing and should be supported. Mr Stanyon and Ms Yule, do you agree?
"Q To be clear, automatic voter registration is not compulsory voting; it simply makes people more able to vote. It is not forcing them to vote at all, so it would be a mistake to conflate the two.
"Q Voter ID has clearly made it harder for people to vote—tens of thousands of people have been prevented from casting their vote in recent years—and it was introduced on the basis of virtually no evidence of cases of personation. Do you agree that the cost to people’s capacity …..." Ellie Chowns - View Speech
"Q Thank you. Mr Stanyon, are you concerned about the effect of voter ID on the exclusion of people from voting?
Peter Stanyon: Yes, but I think the system in place has been developed to allow voter authority certificates and the like to be there to provide a safety …..." Ellie Chowns - View Speech
"Q I would like to ask your view on several things under the heading of political finance and disinformation. On political finance, could you comment on the benefits of a ban on crypto donations, on the potential benefits of a cap on individual donations, and on the potential benefits …..." Ellie Chowns - View Speech
"Q Thank you both for your work. You have made a powerful case for the danger of not better regulating disinformation. Can you share any lessons observed from how other countries have perhaps done this better? We have talked about the proposal for a repository of digital adverts. We …..." Ellie Chowns - View Speech