Elections: Online Interference Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Elections: Online Interference

Lord Hayward Excerpts
Wednesday 1st May 2019

(5 years, 6 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Lord Young of Cookham Portrait Lord Young of Cookham
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For once, most uncharacteristically, the noble Lord is incorrect. The Electoral Commission is not dependent on the Government for its resources; it is dependent on the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission in another place. I am grateful for his gracious nod in response. The budget is set by the Speaker’s Committee, but I can say that in the last year for which we have figures the Electoral Commission underspent by £1.1 million.

Lord Hayward Portrait Lord Hayward (Con)
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My Lords, does my noble friend agree that any form of interference in elections is important and should be dealt with? Therefore, I encourage the Government to adopt Labour Party policy on voter ID and require people to produce some form of ID at all elections, as the Labour Party does when selecting candidates.

Lord Young of Cookham Portrait Lord Young of Cookham
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Of course, I have no idea how the Labour Party selects its candidates—