Representation of the People Bill (Second sitting)

Sojan Joseph Excerpts

Wednesday 18th March 2026 Public Bill Committees

[The Chair]

Mr Joseph, you have one minute for your question and the answer.

[Sojan Joseph (Ashford) (Lab)]

Q I know we touched on the question of MPs not being able to help you or locate you because the digital system we use, CaseWorker, is linked to the voter register. Maybe that is why we cannot help, but do you think that there should be a separate register for those living overseas? Would that resolve such issues?

Colin Blackwell: Each constituency has a separate overseas register, and we political parties get this. We get all the overseas register data. I am not exactly sure what benefit a central register brings, other than maybe convenience, but I do think it is potentially a slippery slope for then saying, “Oh, well, let’s have overseas constituencies just for overseas Brits,” which we do not think is a good idea. We think it is counterintuitive and has the potential to severely reduce overseas electors’ representation, not enhance it.

At the last election, in our manifesto, the Conservative party saw the solution as appointing a Minister for Brits abroad—a representative in government battling for Brits abroad, and effectively, with civil service support, answering the questions that MPs get from their overseas electors. I do not necessarily see the benefit of unifying the existing separate overseas registers into a single one.

[The Chair]

You have had the last word of this panel, Mr Blackwell. On behalf of the Committee, I thank our witnesses in the Boothroyd Room and online for their evidence.

Examination of Witnesses

Azzurra Moores and Chris Morris gave evidence.