The Government Response To The House Of Lords Constitution Committees Report On The Parliamentary Voting System And Constituencies Bill

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Political and Constitutional Reform Committee
Publisher : The Stationery Office
ISBN 13 : 9780215554895
Total Pages : 218 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (548 download)

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Download or read book Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Political and Constitutional Reform Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-10-20 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A cross-party committee of MPs warns that the rushed timetable of one of the government's flagship bills could risk restoring the public's faith in Parliament while significantly limiting scrutiny of the bill's impact. The 3rd report from the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee (HCP 437, ISBN 9780215554895) of the 2010-11 session says that for primarily political reasons, the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill links two provisions which could have been considered separately. Of particular concern to the committee is that if either House substantially amends the rules for holding the referendum on the alternative vote, the government may have to reconsider the date of the vote or run the risk of serious administrative difficulties which could undermine the outcome. The committee stresses that voters must understand what they are voting for and that recommendations by the Electoral Commission on the intelligibility of the referendum question should be implemented. The Committee also states that the government's failure to attempt to reach cross-party consensus on its boundary reform proposals adds fuel to the fire for those claiming the bill is being brought forward for partisan motives and may embolden future governments to do the same. The committee also questions why the public is not being offered a referendum on constituency boundary reform, which significantly affects how voters are represented in Parliament. Also, while the committee agrees that there may be a case for reducing the number of MPs, it says the Government has singularly failed to make it. The impact of boundary reforms on local politics appears to have been given little or no consideration and the committee expresses concern about the potential impact of the current proposals on the ability of MPs to fulfil their responsibilities to their constituents.