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Political Parties and Elections Bill

My Lords, I welcome these amendments to Clause 5, which seem to be pragmatic and sensible. It is quite some time since some of us argued that there was a need for a minority of the commission members to have hands-on political experience to facilitate the effective working of the commission, and of course we now feel somewhat vindicated on this issue. At earlier stages, my noble friend Lord Tyler and I argued that party leaders making nominations should have regard to the need for diversity in the appointment of commissioners. However, I must admit that when we looked at our own amendment, we thought that it would be somewhat difficult if the party leaders were not themselves willing to consider jointly how to address this issue of diverse representation when they made only one nomination each for membership of the commission. Therefore, the suggestion that each of the leaders of the three main parties should make three nominations is very sensible. It will help to ensure that the commission continues to have a diverse membership, and I hope that the Speaker’s Committee will ensure that there is a proper and professional process for appointing political candidates from among those nominated. They should have regard to the need for the composition of the commission to be balanced and effective. I hope that in the first instance the party leaders will refrain from considering nominations simply on the basis of seeking to reward long-standing supporters in the belief that they must have some sort of grandee status. Under the process, commissioners should be found with real hands-on experience of winning election campaigns, the nominations process and the election expense rules, and a good working knowledge of election law should be required to add significant value to the commission’s work. Finally, I hope that all those concerned will recognise that there cannot be two levels of commissioner. Appointments may be made by different processes but there should be no question of a different status at different meetings for existing members and politically appointed members of the commission. I believe that the amendment will strengthen the valuable work of the commission and fulfil more of the hopes of those who feel that the body is very necessary in the attempt to modernise and clean up our electoral processes.