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Electoral Administration Bill

I applaud the way in which the hon. Member for South Staffordshire (Sir Patrick Cormack) introduced the new clause, and I thank him for the kind words of tribute that he paid to his opponent from my party, who sadly lost her life during the campaign. The hon. Member for Epping Forest (Mrs. Laing) was absolutely right that the circumstances in which the new rules apply involve a personal tragedy of a candidate dying during a campaign, which we should not forget. The intricate proposals, which have been worked out, as I understand it, with the support of parliamentary draftsmen working for the Government, appear to meet the bill. In saying that they appear to meet the bill, I am not suggesting that I do not support them, but I want to enter one note of caution. It is very easy, because of the affection and regard in which the hon. Member for South Staffordshire and those who have supported his proposals are held, not to do those proposals proper justice in terms of scrutiny. The Floor of the House is quite a difficult place on which to do that. I wonder whether it might be appropriate for the Constitutional Affairs Committee to have sight of the amendments before they complete their parliamentary passage, so that we can be assured that the potential consequences have been considered. Some questions arise in my mind, and perhaps the Minister or the hon. Member for South Staffordshire can help me as to how the provisions would apply in the case of other elections. Clearly, they are predicated on a death during a general election. They would also apply in a parliamentary by-election. I am not sure whether we need to consider parallel conditions for other elections, such as local authority elections, mayoral elections or European parliamentary elections. Perhaps the Minister will consider that. As far as the precise provisions are concerned, the proposal seems to cover almost every eventuality. The circumstance in which there are only two candidates and an independent candidate dies, in which case the other candidate is declared the winner, seems to be not so much a process of election as of natural selection. Under paragraph 62, the phrase"““the deceased candidate must be ignored””" seems over-brutal. Those are mere observations along the way.