Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill

Debate between Maria Miller and Craig Whittaker

Committee stage & 3rd reading
Monday 13th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Miller]

That is a very important point. If one of the pillars of our democracy is elections, we should be prepared to have an election within a specified period at any point in the year. It should be mission critical, and I am surprised by some of the comments that have been made showing that that is not the case. Gone are the days when we ran out of salt because there was too much frost on the road. Hampshire County Council makes sure that we have a very large stock of salt to avert such a crisis. We should make sure that some other issues that have been a problem are dealt with as well.

I am very grateful to the Minister again for listening to these concerns so intently. Rather than my pushing new clause 1 to a vote, I hope she might indicate in her comments that the Government will be commissioning research about the impact of the length of general elections on our democracy—not just on voter participation, but on the broader democracy—so that we in this place can keep a close eye on how longer campaigns affect the quality of the democracy in our country. Perhaps this will form a foundation stone for the modernisation of UK elections more broadly—a thorny issue, I know—and perhaps she will report on the findings of that research as we start to discuss further legislation, including the Elections Bill in this place.

[Craig Whittaker]

That is the nub of these issues. Instead of extending elections because of their complexity, surely we should be considering alternative ways to allow people to vote differently to the way they currently vote.

[Mrs Miller]

My hon. Friend makes points that I am sure those listening to that debate will be pondering. In a day and age when electronic mail, not postal mail, is the norm, they will be asking what the Government are doing to ensure that our electoral system is modernised. I applaud the Government for all they are doing on voter identification. It is such an important thing but it has been sadly lacking. This is a reforming Government in that area, and I am sure my hon. Friend the Minister will do all she can to continue that reforming zeal in her work.

Let me pull together two other points that are allied to what we have been discussing. I think a great deal will be needed in returning to the status quo ante. The vast majority of Members do not remember the status quo ante—some of us do, such as my hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley (Craig Whittaker) and perhaps one or two others such as my right hon. Friend the Member for Elmet and Rothwell, but there are not many of us left. Ensuring that the House and Members understand those conventions that are not formalised in law will be something of a challenge. I am sure the Minister is up to that challenge, but it is something we need to address. She has rightly made a number of comments on this issue—she has written a letter to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, and there are pieces of correspondence and an opportunity for debate—but as we move forward we need a settled view of the conventions.

Finally, on the wash-up, the day that a Prime Minister announces a general election is not the start of the general election campaign, and hon. Members need to take a much closer look, perhaps through colleagues who sit on the relevant Committees, as to how we can get better control over what is considered in that wash-up session. There are often a few deals regarding what legislation will pass through Parliament before the election campaign, and perhaps that would be better done after the election, rather than before. We should be considering such matters, with a focus on shortening the election campaign to something that is not just best for one set of people, but best for our democracy.

Equal Marriage Consultation

Debate between Maria Miller and Craig Whittaker

Tuesday 11th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

I welcome my hon. Friend’s support. I can certainly reassure him that it will be for religious organisations and, indeed, individual ministers to discuss the issue themselves, and to examine the protections that we have introduced in order to ensure that no ministers or religious organisations will be forced to conduct same-sex marriages if they feel that that does not accord with their own religious beliefs.

[Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley) (Con)]

The Minister has said today that she has given a clear articulation of protection for religious freedoms by introducing a quadruple lock. However, she has also said that there is a “negligible” chance that that will be challenged. Can she tell us what the risk of a challenge is in percentage terms?

[Maria Miller]

I remind my hon. Friend that it is not just the quadruple lock that will provide that protection. The case law of the European Court of Human Rights, and the rights in the European convention, put the protection of religious belief in this matter beyond doubt, and I ask him to focus on that.

Same-sex Marriage in Churches

Debate between Maria Miller and Craig Whittaker

Monday 10th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

My hon. Friend is right. Having been married for many years—many hon. Members will be aware of this as well—I know that marriage brings a stability to life and creates a loving place to bring up children. That is important to recognise, but we absolutely have to respect the rights of religious institutions to take a different view. As a sophisticated and mature society, we should be able to enter that debate with respect on both sides.

[Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend said that the views of people of faith should never be marginalised. Will she tell the House how she will square that with the 619,007 people who have signed the Coalition for Marriage petition, which calls for no change in the definition of marriage?