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Electoral Administration Bill

The noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, may have no fear: I will certainly withdraw my amendment for now. But with great respect to the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart—and therefore by inference to the noble and learned Lord the Lord Chancellor, who adopted in its entirety the judgment of the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart—there is a great deal of difference between the two amendments. My amendments require that the treasurer takes all reasonable steps for a treasurer in his position. In my view, that is a much more generous test for the treasurer than the test laid down by the Government, which is ““ought reasonably to have known””. I find it a real jurisprudential challenge to be up against both the noble and learned Lord and the noble Lord; but it is one I am quite prepared to take on and shall return to on Report. In the meantime, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment No. 12, as an amendment to Amendment No. 1, by leave, withdrawn. [Amendments Nos. 13 to 17, as amendments to Amendment No. 1, not moved.]