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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 26 November 2024
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Displaying 1320 contributions

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Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee

Elections Bill

Meeting date: 18 November 2021

Martin Whitfield

No problem. Thank you for that. It is worrying that so many people, albeit in a small sample group, believed they had voted one way but would have been recorded as having voted differently.

Ethan Young, I think that you wanted to come in.

Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee

Elections Bill

Meeting date: 18 November 2021

Martin Whitfield

I have a follow-up question, because there seems to be silence, certainly in what I have read, on the provision by somebody of a specific identity document that was outwith the quite substantial list of documents that are expected to be used. Is it intended that that would stand for just one election, or have you seen anything that says that that document could cover a number of elections?

Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee

Elections Bill

Meeting date: 18 November 2021

Martin Whitfield

Thank you, Tess. That almost takes us to your next question. Do you want to move on?

Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee

Elections Bill

Meeting date: 18 November 2021

Martin Whitfield

My question is slightly more nuanced in the sense that, in this scenario, the voter’s name would be registered to vote but one polling clerk would have made a decision that the evidence that was presented to them was such that the voter could not vote on that name in the UK election. What would happen about the Scottish election?

I will add another little problem: what if the voter had already cast their Scottish local authority election vote in one room but then a discussion happened at another table in relation to the UK-wide election? I presume that the polling official at the station would get involved in that decision—I do not think that it would rest exclusively with one of the two people sat at the table. What would happen with regard to the integrity of the two votes?

Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee

Elections Bill

Meeting date: 18 November 2021

Martin Whitfield

I will move on from voter ID to the implications of a strategy and policy statement for the Electoral Commission. At the heart of this sits my concern about the impact on the independence of the Electoral Commission of the proposed ability to provide a strategy and policy statement.

Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee

Elections Bill

Meeting date: 18 November 2021

Martin Whitfield

To clarify, there are two aspects. In an earlier answer, Pete Wildman talked about applications for postal votes and renewal of signatures. We are now talking about is the situation where, on the day of an election, people take votes that have been cast but not put into the postal service, to a polling station to put into a box. My understanding—this is what I seek clarification on—is that, in Scotland, there is no limit to the number of votes that one person can present at a polling station, but the bill to which the LCM applies proposes a restriction on the total number that can be handed in. Is that your understanding, too?

Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee

Elections Bill

Meeting date: 18 November 2021

Martin Whitfield

I am sorry; I do not mean to cut across you, but I will ask my second question. Is there any evidence about whether people having voter ID, rather than its provision, increases the confidence of groups about elections?

Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee

Elections Bill

Meeting date: 18 November 2021

Martin Whitfield

Would anyone else—

Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee

Elections Bill

Meeting date: 18 November 2021

Martin Whitfield

I was just wondering whether anyone wanted to come in before your response, Edward.

Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee

Elections Bill

Meeting date: 18 November 2021

Martin Whitfield

It is a simple but always challenging question.