Representation of the People Bill is a good day for democracy - but further steps are needed to safeguard our politics
Statement from Unlock Democracy reacting to the government’s press announcement on the Representation of the People Bill
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Commenting on the government’s statement, Tom Brake, Chief Executive of Unlock Democracy, said:
“This is a good day for democracy - but not as good as it could have been. At a time of global democratic backsliding, when US lawmakers are trying to make it harder to vote and harder to register, this package of common-sense measures will go some way to strengthening participation and trust in our politics. But further steps are needed before the Bill becomes law.”
On the absence of a commitment to restore the independence of the Electoral Commission:
“The government’s decision not to restore the independence of the Electoral Commission is a baffling omission. Public confidence depends on the Electoral Commission being independent of ministers and answerable to Parliament, not the government of the day. (1) Labour’s apparent abandonment of its principled stance in opposition - and briefly in government - leaves the watchdog highly vulnerable to political pressure. (2) We hope ministers will see the error of their ways before it’s too late.”
On voter registration measures:
“We strongly support measures to improve voter registration. Everyone has a right to vote for those who represent them in Parliament. Automatic voter registration will help ensure everyone can make their voice heard, and that Parliament truly represents the people it serves.” (3)
On lowering the voting age to 16:
“16-year olds are already voting in two of the UK’s four nations. Scotland’s experience since 2014 shows young people are eager to participate, and when they start voting early, they keep voting as they get older. (4) That can only be good for our democracy.”
On political finance measures:
“Passing the ‘Musk test’ is a welcome step - foreign billionaires, no matter their corporate holdings in the UK, have no business interfering in our politics. But the government’s proposals do not tackle the outsized influence of a handful of domestic mega-donors. An annual cap on donations from individuals and companies would begin to address public concern that politics can be bought.” (5)
-ENDS-
Notes to editors:
(1) Jack Straw, speaking as the responsible minister at the second reading debate on the Bill that established the Electoral Commission, 10th January 2000: “To undertake its key role at the heart of our electoral arrangements, the Commission must be as independent of the government of the day as our constitutional arrangements allow, and it must be answerable directly to Parliament and not to ministers.”
(2) Alex Norris, speaking in Parliament, 27th April 2022: “It is not for this government or any government, be they Labour or Conservative, to dictate the priorities of an independent watchdog, especially one that regulates our own elections.”
Angela Rayner, writing in The Guardian, 3rd September 2021: “Even the government watchdog, the Electoral Commission, which upholds electoral law and safeguards the integrity and transparency of political parties’ finances, has come under attack. The elections Bill seeks to completely undermine the Commission’s role and end any semblance of independence”.
David Blunkett, quoted in The Guardian, 24th April 2022: “A free and fair election is the touchstone of any functioning democracy, which is why we [Labour] introduced the Electoral Commission despite having a large majority and the political ability to give Labour an advantage in future elections. Revoking that independence would set a dangerous precedent for current and future elections, and would give an unacceptable signal to the rest of the world.”
Lord Khan of Burnley, the then Labour Government Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at Housing, Communities and Local Government, in closing the debate on the King's Speech, 23rd July 2024, said: “On the Electoral Commission strategy and policy statement, it is vital for public confidence in our democracy that the independence of the Electoral Commission is upheld. The existence of a strategy and policy statement for the Electoral Commission is inconsistent with the commission’s role as an independent regulator.”
More Labour quotes available here.
(3) A system of automatic voter registration (AVR) would allow electoral authorities to use existing data to verify and register voters automatically. A map of England and Wales showing the estimated number of unregistered voters per parliamentary constituency is available here. More details on AVR’s potential impact are available in Unlock Democracy’s report, ‘Register Every Voter’, available here, and on how AVR could be implemented in the UK, here.
(4) The Conversation, 24th January 2023: ‘Scottish elections: young people more likely to vote if they started at 16 - new study’.
Unlock Democracy is a not-for-profit organisation which campaigns for a vibrant, inclusive democracy that puts power in the hands of the people.