Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill

Debate between Richard Shepherd and Stephen Williams

Wednesday 16th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Richard Shepherd (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

The Government give as their reason for disagreeing:

“Because the outcome of the referendum should be determined by those who vote in it and should not depend on how many do not vote.”

I challenge that. I do not accept it. One of the reasons why I challenge the process is that we are under a guillotine. During the whole passage of the Bill we have been guillotined. Their lordships are part of Parliament and therefore used to be considered custodians of the constitution, so that we in our party passion might not force through something that altered the balance of the constitution. I oppose the motion for that reason.

The Bill is a major constitutional change. No one has argued otherwise. It will change the voting system. We have almost universal suffrage. Everyone is entitled to vote. If they choose not to exercise—

[Stephen Williams]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Mr Shepherd]

I shall not, if the hon. Gentleman will forgive me. We have so little time and others want to speak.

We have universal suffrage so if a proposition is put to us, I shall take the older course of action, which the hon. Member for Walsall North (Mr Winnick) hinted at. Those who seek change from a settled position have the right to advocate it in a referendum, but those who are not convinced about change are not negligible. They are part of the equation and their very reluctance to vote was normally taken, in an older tradition, as acquiescence in the existing arrangements—that is, they did not step forward and seek change by the exercise of their vote. That was a profound and reasonable position to adopt.

Those who want change have the opportunity in a referendum to vote for it. Those who do not vote have not indicated consent, so the level of consent can be very low indeed in the context of the universal suffrage of our country. Dismissively, the Government say that the outcome is not to be determined by those who do not vote.