---

Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill

Perhaps noble Lords may take this as a sign to take their tea break—at this time of night, they might require something a bit stronger—as Amendment 58ZA is really a probing amendment. The amendment seeks to probe what to me is a puzzle. If the Boundary Commission makes proposals for a change to the draft order in council, would it not be right to say that the Minister ““must””, rather than ““may””, accept the Boundary Commission’s proposals? In all our efforts on the Bill, one of the great things that we are trying to protect is the independence of the Boundary Commission. However, the Bill is drafted in a way that suggests that Ministers would have the discretion—the word used is ““may””—on whether to accept the Boundary Commission’s recommended modifications. I suspect that the word ““may”” is used by accident, but if its use is deliberate it is disgraceful.