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Political Parties and Elections Bill

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his indefatigable persistence in raising this point—that is a great tribute to his party. As he well remembers, we have been round this course several times already, and I do not want to tire the patience of the House by repeating it. We have not forgotten the measures of devolution that we are proud to have introduced, but that is precisely what they are—measures of devolution. This remains the UK Parliament, and we have discussed this at great length already. We developed the amendment in discussion with the Electoral Commission. It introduces a degree of competition into the process for appointing nominated commissioners by ensuring that there is a pool of candidates from which the Speaker's Committee can select four candidates on merit, one from each of the three largest nominating parties, as well as from a smaller party.