Patricia Ferguson
Main Page: Patricia Ferguson (Labour - Glasgow West)Department Debates - View all Patricia Ferguson's debates with the Leader of the House
(2 months, 1 week ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
The Government have no plans to change the current position. If the hon. Gentleman is seeking a constitutional crisis, it will not be of our causing —it will be of the SNP’s.
Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow West) (Lab)
On 26 February I raised with the Leader of the House my fears that the unreliability of the postal service might affect constituents in Glasgow West who wish to vote by post in the Scottish Parliament elections. Since then, I have been advised of a situation where a proxy vote application was received some days after the deadline, although the envelope was very clearly postmarked several days before the deadline. Will my right hon. Friend assist me in arranging a meeting with the appropriate Minister to discuss a simple amendment to the Representation of the People Bill that would grant returning officers limited discretion in such cases?
Sir Alan Campbell
As my hon. Friend will have heard, the Representation of the People Bill contains measures to increase the resilience of the proxy and postal voting systems. That is also a constant theme of the defending democracy taskforce. If my hon. Friend seeks a meeting with the relevant Minster, I am happy to arrange one.