Electoral Registration and Administration Bill

Jack Straw Excerpts

Tuesday 29th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

No; I will give way in a moment. Let me turn to the substance of the issues.

Parliament agreed less than two years ago to a boundary review, and it did so for good reasons. There are major disparities in the size of constituencies. In England, East Ham has 92,000 voters; Wirral West has just 55,000. The differences are even greater in respect of other nations: Arfon in Wales has an electorate of just 41,000. This means that some votes count much more than others, and the principle of greater equality in the value of each vote is at the heart of this new boundary review. Votes should carry much more equal weight across the country in electing Members to this House and in deciding a future Government. If the current review were not to happen, in England the next general election would be based on the register of February 2000, with all the consequent disparities and inequalities which have been exacerbated since then. It would be 15 years out of date.

[Mr Jack Straw (Blackburn) (Lab)]

Does the right hon. Gentleman accept that he is being just a tad disingenuous in claiming—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Although the list of proscribed words ceased to exist some time ago, I would say that the right hon. Gentleman is on somewhat dodgy ground in using that word. In view of his known dexterity in the use of language, I exhort him to deploy another term to make his point.

[Mr Straw]

I thought perhaps the word “tad” would ameliorate the effect. Would “dissembling”—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. If the right hon. Gentleman cannot accuse somebody of behaving disingenuously, it is small comfort for that person to be accused of behaving only a tad disingenuously.

[Mr Straw]

Is “dissembling” acceptable?

[Hon. Members]

No!

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

No.

[Mr Straw]

Would the Leader of the House accept that he has put only a part of his argument when he justifies the measure on the grounds of seeking equality of electorates? That principle is agreed across the Chamber. The objection to the 2011 Act was that it was a wholly partisan measure, breaking a clear convention that this kind of measure be agreed across the parties, to arbitrarily reduce the number of MPs from 650 to 600. That is the real reason.

[Mr Lansley]

Well, Mr Speaker, that was a long time to be sitting down. I think the right hon. Gentleman knows me well enough to know that I am on occasions wrong, but I endeavour never to be disingenuous. On this occasion I am not wrong either. One could equally argue that it was a partisan effort on the part of the Opposition to frustrate the intention of the House to bring equality and fairness into the franchise when the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 was passed. None the less, my point is simply that Parliament voted on that legislation, which has been enacted. That was done on the principle of equality and fairness and the Boundary Commission has proceeded on that basis. Not now proceeding with the review would leave all the inequalities in constituencies, between constituencies and between voters that go all the way back to February 2000.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend is inviting me to engage with a series of hypothetical situations. I will resist the temptation.

All four boundary commissions have completed their consultations and are finalising—

[Mr Straw]

rose—

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

Give way!

[Mr Lansley]

I will, but I have given way to the right hon. Gentleman before and it took about five minutes.

[Mr Straw]

Could the Leader of the House now answer the clear question put by the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart): why is the Conservative party selecting candidates on the existing boundaries, not those in the new Act?

[Mr Lansley]

As Leader of the House, I am answering for my party and for the Government—[Interruption.] My party will live very happily with the outcome of the boundary commissions’ review, I can tell you that. The boundary commissions are finalising their recommendations. They are doing that because this Parliament voted for that measure. This concerns a fundamental feature of our democracy—namely, the basis on which we are elected to this House.