Question

To ask the hon. Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2024 to Question 25444 on Political Parties: Registration, if she will ask the Commission to make an assessment of the consistency of those rules with the approval of a description on a ballot paper of the Liberal Party that includes reference to Steve Radford's candidate.

All applications to register new party descriptions are assessed against the criteria set out in law. The criteria are designed to ensure voters can mark the ballot paper with confidence.

The description referenced was registered 23 years ago. The Commission has since updated its approach to descriptions that feature individuals’ names, to ensure the statutory criteria which prevent voters from being misled or confused are met.

The Commission periodically reviews the registers of political parties to ensure registered details continue to meet the statutory tests. It will consider descriptions that include an individual’s name as part of its programme of future reviews.