Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, further to the research published by Democracy Volunteers, what discussions he has had with Manchester City Council on compliance with the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023 in the Gorton and Denton Parliamentary by-election; and if the Commission will make it their policy to undertake an assessment of the Electoral Registration Officer's compliance with Performance Standard Outcome 1 on the delivery of well-run elections.

The Electoral Commission was in close contact with the Returning Officer (RO) to quickly and carefully review the concerns that have been raised and the information available in relation to the by-election.

The Commission considers the performance of ROs in their delivery of elections through the performance standards framework. The Commission will make any assessment in relation to this by-election in due course.