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Political Parties and Elections Bill

Clause 14: Limitation of pre-candidacy election expenses for certain general elections Debate on whether Clause 14 should stand part of the Bill. We oppose the idea that Clause 14 should stand part of the Bill for exactly the same reasons that we put forward in a series of alternative amendments yesterday. I do not wish to repeat those arguments but simply note that the Electoral Commission briefing on whether Clause 14 should stand part says that, ""in principle it would be preferable to introduce a longer regulated period for candidate spending at the end of all Parliaments"." The principle is "all Parliaments". Currently, we have something that will work for only the last four months of a Parliament that goes its full five-year term. The commission suggests that we need something that will work for all Parliaments. For that reason, we oppose Clause 14 standing part of the Bill.