---

Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

I am terribly sorry to disappoint the Minister, but I have certainly not been persuaded by his arguments, and I will not withdraw amendment No. 26. I hope and expect that the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire (Lembit Öpik) feels the same. The Minister was totally unconvincing. It would have helped if he had done a bit of homework, and reflected on what was said by the Secretary of State less than a month ago. Let me refresh his memory. If I recall correctly, he was present when the Secretary of State gave the House the following assurance: "““We want to modernise still further the registration arrangements in Northern Ireland, safeguarding the dramatic improvements in the accuracy of the register . . . In allowing us to do this, the registration clauses of the Bill go to the heart of increasing trust and engagement in the political and democratic process.””—[Official Report, 13 March 2006; Vol. 443, c. 1174.]" However, this afternoon the Minister, who was listening carefully, will have noticed that not a single voice—apart from his—was heard in support of clause 3. It is regrettable that, in quoting from the part that refers to the power of the chief electoral officer, he omitted the crucial word ““and”” between paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2). It is not just a question of the wish of the chief electoral officer; he must abide by very relevant registration objectives specified in clause 4. For instance, he—or she: we are to appoint a new chief electoral officer—may fear that entries in the register are false. Clause 4 imposes objectives and obligations on the chief electoral officer, and consequently any recommendation for the Secretary of State to arrange an earlier canvass has been made with very good reason. When pressed by various hon. Members, the Minister used an unfortunate phrase. He said that the public interest might just boil down to financial interests. Democracy does not come cheap. As an elector in Northern Ireland, I am offended—as my constituents will be—that a Minister of the British Government should say in the House of Commons that the public interest might mean that an up-to-date accurate register was too expensive.