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Ministerial statement on Monday, 5 July 2010, in the House of Commons, led by Nick Clegg.

Political and Constitutional Reform

Statement on political and constitutional reform.

Secondary information

Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
513 c23-46 
Session
2010-12
Department
Deputy Prime Minister
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
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Written questions
House of Lords
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Written questions
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Proceeding contributions
Bernard Jenkin | 513 c31 (Link to this contribution) That is not the suggestion being made. We all know that voting reform—changing the voting system—is ...
Nick Clegg | 513 c30 (Link to this contribution) I do not recognise that it is contemptuous towards the people of Britain, wherever they live, to giv...
Show all contributions (132)
Nick Clegg | 513 c29 (Link to this contribution) Of course I agree that it is essential that the Bills are properly scrutinised. As the hon. Gentlema...
Charles Kennedy | 513 c29 (Link to this contribution) Obviously, I welcome the historic progress towards the alternative vote referendum and the fixed-ter...
Nick Clegg | 513 c29 (Link to this contribution) I recognise, of course, the outstanding job that my right hon. Friend does across a constituency tha...
Chris Bryant | 513 c29 (Link to this contribution) If one were to cut the number of MPs but keep the same number of Government Ministers, as is laid do...
Nick Clegg | 513 c30 (Link to this contribution) The key question is whether the package of reform increases the power of Parliament to hold the Exec...
David Davis | 513 c30 (Link to this contribution) I commend the Deputy Prime Minister for changing his mind on the 55% proposal, but may I ask him to ...
Nick Clegg | 513 c30 (Link to this contribution) The Electoral Commission, which the right hon. Gentleman cited, said just last week:""There are bene...
Elfyn Llwyd | 513 c30 (Link to this contribution) Making this announcement and fixing, to use the right hon. Gentleman's word, the date of the next ge...
Graham Allen | 513 c29 (Link to this contribution) Does the Deputy Prime Minister accept that if we are to reform our democracy, one of the most import...
Nick Clegg | 513 c29 (Link to this contribution) The coalition agreement is very clear that the referendum will be decided on the basis of a simple m...
Baroness Laing of Elderslie | 513 c28 (Link to this contribution) Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that if a referendum on a major constitutional issue such as vot...
Speaker | 513 c25 (Link to this contribution) Order. I am sorry to have to interrupt the Deputy Prime Minister, but the hon. Member for Isle of Wi...
Nick Clegg | 513 c27-8 (Link to this contribution) Before I deal with the questions that the right hon. Gentleman raised, I want to acknowledge, recogn...
Speaker | 513 c28 (Link to this contribution) Order. A great many right hon. and hon. Members are seeking to catch my eye, and accommodating most,...
Jack Straw | 513 c25-7 (Link to this contribution) I begin by thanking the right hon. Gentleman for early sight of his statement. First, will he acknow...
Speaker | 513 c24 (Link to this contribution) Order. I am sorry to interrupt the Deputy Prime Minister. The statement by the Deputy Prime Minister...
Nick Clegg | 513 c23-5 (Link to this contribution) With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement on the Government's proposals for parl...
Speaker | 513 c25 (Link to this contribution) Order. I want to hear the second one.
Nick Clegg | 513 c32 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the hon. Gentleman's support for a referendum that would allow people to have their say on...
Stephen Twigg | 513 c32 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the Government's decision to implement Labour's election manifesto pledge for a referendum...
Speaker | 513 c32 (Link to this contribution) Order. I apologise—[Interruption.] Order. There is simply too much noise in the Chamber. The House m...
Nick Clegg | 513 c31-2 (Link to this contribution) I have a great deal of respect for the hon. Gentleman. He is a long-serving Member who will always h...
Christopher Chope | 513 c31 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the Deputy Prime Minister for having listened to the views of Back Benchers on the ...
Nick Clegg | 513 c31 (Link to this contribution) Once again, another Labour Member calls a simple act of democracy—giving people in a referendum the ...
Austin Mitchell | 513 c31 (Link to this contribution) It is a great shame that the Deputy Prime Minister did not have the guts to fight for the best chang...
Nick Clegg | 513 c31 (Link to this contribution) With respect—[Interruption.] It is absurd to suggest that it is artificially inflating turnout by ju...
Karl Turner | 513 c43 (Link to this contribution) On the issue of recall, does the Deputy Prime Minister consider himself in danger of recall, given t...
Nick Clegg | 513 c43 (Link to this contribution) As I said, we have inherited the deep flaws in the register from the previous Government. It is incu...
Nick Clegg | 513 c43-4 (Link to this contribution) Thanks for the relevant question. As the hon. Gentleman is aware, the loan pledged by the last Gove...
Nick Clegg | 513 c43 (Link to this contribution) This is 20 questions by a historian. The last Government—the hon. Gentleman's party in government—go...
Nick Clegg | 513 c43 (Link to this contribution) I agree that the development of different electoral systems for different bodies creates complexitie...
Andrew Love | 513 c43 (Link to this contribution) If the boundary review goes ahead on the basis of the register in December, it is likely that at lea...
Tristram Hunt | 513 c42 (Link to this contribution) The Deputy Prime Minister had the audacity to mention the Chartists, who did not believe in taxing t...
Speaker | 513 c43 (Link to this contribution) May I ask the Deputy Prime Minister not to read a history book before providing his answer?
Nick Clegg | 513 c42 (Link to this contribution) I think that the alternative vote system, were it to be introduced, would not be susceptible to the ...
Sarah Wollaston | 513 c42 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the opportunity for the electorate to have a chance to vote on AV, but does the Deputy Pri...
Nick Clegg | 513 c42 (Link to this contribution) I of course agree that as far as the referendum is concerned, it is purely on the issue of the elect...
Richard Burden | 513 c42 (Link to this contribution) It will probably come as no surprise to the Deputy Prime Minister that, in common with other Members...
Mike Gapes | 513 c42 (Link to this contribution) The Deputy Prime Minister is a student of Germany. In that context, he will be aware of what happene...
Nick Clegg | 513 c42 (Link to this contribution) Yes, exactly: "Nein" is the answer.
Speaker | 513 c42 (Link to this contribution) Order. I am sorry to interrupt the hon. Gentleman, but I did appeal for economy in questions and tim...
Nick Clegg | 513 c42 (Link to this contribution) The figures I cited were the figures that prevailed at the time of the last general election.
Nick Clegg | 513 c41 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes a very good point. I think there is widespread concern on both sides of the Hou...
Barry Gardiner | 513 c41 (Link to this contribution) When the Deputy Prime Minister said only months ago that the electorate of Islington North was 66,47...
Nick Clegg | 513 c45 (Link to this contribution) As it happens, the hon. Gentleman is wrong on a point of fact. The Gould report said very clearly th...
Gordon Banks | 513 c44 (Link to this contribution) The Prime Minister is already committed to answering questions in the Scottish Parliament on issues ...
Nick Clegg | 513 c44 (Link to this contribution) I think that that is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. I am sure that he will re...
Mark Menzies | 513 c44 (Link to this contribution) In his statement the Deputy Prime Minister mentioned sorting out the influence of big money in polit...
Nick Clegg | 513 c44 (Link to this contribution) Clearly, any new arrangement for the funding of political parties will need to be binding on all pol...
Nick Clegg | 513 c44 (Link to this contribution) I simply do not accept that there is an imbalance between the number of Ministers and the manner in ...
Chris Heaton-Harris | 513 c44 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend and I used to represent a region containing 4.2 million people in the European ...
Nick Clegg | 513 c44 (Link to this contribution) We estimate, on the basis of calculations that will need to be derived from the electoral register p...
Speaker | 513 c34 (Link to this contribution) Order. I genuinely apologise that I have to keep interrupting the Deputy Prime Minister, but I want ...
Nick Clegg | 513 c33-4 (Link to this contribution) But what did the previous Government do for 13 years? Of course we can all agree with the right hon....
Frank Dobson | 513 c33 (Link to this contribution) As the Member with, I believe, the sixth largest electorate in the country, I am acutely aware, desp...
Ian Davidson | 513 c33 (Link to this contribution) Does the Minister now regret using the term "fix" in the context of the political system? Does he be...
Speaker | 513 c33 (Link to this contribution) May I reiterate the request for short questions and economical replies? A very large number of colle...
Nick Clegg | 513 c32-3 (Link to this contribution) I agree. It is quite remarkable for a party that was once proud of its credentials as a movement of ...
Nick Clegg | 513 c33 (Link to this contribution) Yes, I agree with my hon. Friend. It cannot be right that we can have a situation whereby, as I cite...
Oliver Heald | 513 c33 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the Deputy Prime Minister's proposals to equalise the size of constituencies. Does he agre...
Nick Clegg | 513 c33 (Link to this contribution) I suspect that I know how the hon. Gentleman might vote in that referendum. No, the referendum quest...
Mike Hancock | 513 c35 (Link to this contribution) Could the Deputy Prime Minister kindly inform the House about who was consulted about the date of th...
Nick Clegg | 513 c35 (Link to this contribution) Clearly, we will be consulting with the devolved Administrations. [Interruption.] I do not think tha...
Andrew Turner | 513 c35 (Link to this contribution) Could the right hon. Gentleman assist me by saying how much consultation there has been with either ...
Nick Clegg | 513 c34-5 (Link to this contribution) The review of the boundaries will not be subject to a vote in the referendum. The referendum questio...
Cathy Jamieson | 513 c35 (Link to this contribution) I wonder whether the Deputy Prime Minister could give a clear answer to a simple question. Did he or...
Nick Clegg | 513 c35 (Link to this contribution) Of course there must and will be consultation with the hon. Gentleman's constituents, as there will ...
Peter Bone | 513 c34 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend has made a brave and courageous statement for a Government who want radical ref...
Nick Clegg | 513 c34 (Link to this contribution) I hear what my hon. Friend says, but I disagree with him for the simple reason that I do not think t...
Nick Clegg | 513 c35 (Link to this contribution) I will not repeat what I said earlier about the consultation on the measures that I have described t...
Fiona Mactaggart | 513 c36 (Link to this contribution) I have heard before the words that the right hon. Gentleman uses about making every vote count, and ...
Nick Clegg | 513 c36 (Link to this contribution) As the hon. Gentleman knows, the coalition agreement also includes clear provisions for a referendum...
Mark Reckless | 513 c36 (Link to this contribution) The Deputy Prime Minister proposes a referendum on how we are elected. He has also proposed an in-or...
Nick Clegg | 513 c36 (Link to this contribution) I am afraid that I do not agree with the right hon. Lady's assumption that the worth of the House sh...
Ann Clwyd | 513 c36 (Link to this contribution) In 1832, Wales had 32 MPs and a population of 1 million. Now Wales has a population of more than 3 m...
Philip Davies | 513 c36 (Link to this contribution) The Deputy Prime Minister wants to hold a referendum to change the voting system and make a coalitio...
Nick Clegg | 513 c36 (Link to this contribution) It is within the gift of this Government to make the proposal and to come to this House first with t...
Wayne David | 513 c35 (Link to this contribution) May I ask the Deputy Prime Minister specifically what consultation there was with the First Minister...
Dan Rogerson | 513 c37 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his statement. He will be aware that the boundary between Cor...
Nick Clegg | 513 c37 (Link to this contribution) As the hon. Lady will know, we need to start with the work of the boundary review as soon as possibl...
Nick Clegg | 513 c37 (Link to this contribution) I hear what my hon. Friend says about the boundary between Cornwall and England, although I am sure ...
Lord Wilson of Sedgefield | 513 c37 (Link to this contribution) On fixed-term Parliaments, does the Deputy Prime Minister agree with the statement that the Prime Mi...
Nick Clegg | 513 c37 (Link to this contribution) We have been very clear in the coalition agreement that we want to see the introduction of a Bill fo...
Nick Clegg | 513 c37 (Link to this contribution) IPSA, as the hon. Gentleman knows, is entirely independent.
Caroline Flint | 513 c37-8 (Link to this contribution) We are the only Parliament in the world whose second Chamber is larger than the first, and Labour's ...
Speaker | 513 c37 (Link to this contribution) Order. The House must hear the right hon. Lady.
Nick Clegg | 513 c38 (Link to this contribution) I am delighted to hear that the right hon. Lady is already talking about the next phase of Labour's ...
Duncan Hames | 513 c38 (Link to this contribution) Will my right hon. Friend confirm that it is the responsibility of local authorities to address thei...
Speaker | 513 c38 (Link to this contribution) Order. It has been a bit broad so far. I gently remind the Deputy Prime Minister that we must focus ...
Nick Boles | 513 c38 (Link to this contribution) Does my right hon. Friend agree that the right hon. Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Frank Dobson)...
Chi Onwurah | 513 c38 (Link to this contribution) As I hope the House knows, I am a supporter of mathematics in all its guises, but to use mathematics...
Nick Clegg | 513 c38 (Link to this contribution) I remind the hon. Lady that we all fought the last general election on a boundary review based on th...
Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown | 513 c38-9 (Link to this contribution) The referendum has been set for May 2011, but the people of Northern Ireland expect to have two elec...
Nick Clegg | 513 c38 (Link to this contribution) I happen to agree that if the right hon. Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Frank Dobson) can do it ...
Lord Barwell | 513 c39 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate my right hon. Friend on an excellent statement. I ask him to look again at one issue—...
Nick Clegg | 513 c39 (Link to this contribution) I have been consulting with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. The hon. Gentleman makes an...
Nick Clegg | 513 c40 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right. Once the synthetic fury about the proposal dies down, I hope not only that ...
Kelvin Hopkins | 513 c40 (Link to this contribution) The Deputy Prime Minister touched on the malign impact of big money on politics in Britain, a point ...
Nick Clegg | 513 c39 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman raises the question of the date, as many others have. I simply reiterate that it ...
Russell Brown | 513 c39 (Link to this contribution) On three occasions this afternoon, the Deputy Prime Minister has been asked about the 3.5 million pe...
Nick Clegg | 513 c39 (Link to this contribution) We have inherited a register from the previous Labour Government. For 13 years, nothing was done abo...
Simon Hughes | 513 c39-40 (Link to this contribution) Does the Deputy Prime Minister not agree that, in addition to the three welcome modernising proposal...
Nick Clegg | 513 c41 (Link to this contribution) I will of course consult the Secretary of State for Wales, and, indeed, the Secretary of State for S...
Nick Clegg | 513 c40 (Link to this contribution) I agree with my hon. Friend that preferential voting is not as alien a concept as it is sometimes ma...
Julian Huppert | 513 c40 (Link to this contribution) Is my right hon. Friend aware that preferential voting systems such as AV are used for internal part...
Nick Clegg | 513 c40 (Link to this contribution) I agree with the hon. Gentleman that we should of course strive towards a cross-party approach on pa...
David Morris | 513 c41 (Link to this contribution) What consideration has been given to the gerrymandering—an issue raised across the Floor—of postal v...
Lord Watson of Wyre Forest | 513 c41 (Link to this contribution) May I be the first Member unequivocally to say to the Deputy Prime Minister this afternoon that he h...
Nick Clegg | 513 c41 (Link to this contribution) I cannot answer the latter question. I am very grateful, however, for what the hon. Gentleman said a...
Conor Burns | 513 c41 (Link to this contribution) In reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon Central (Gavin Barwell), the Deputy Prime Minister...
Nick Clegg | 513 c41 (Link to this contribution) I hear what my hon. Friend says. I suspect, to be honest, that for those who quite rightly wish to a...
Andrew Bridgen | 513 c46 (Link to this contribution) Can the Deputy Prime Minister confirm whether the new, reconstituted constituencies will cross curre...
Nick Clegg | 513 c46 (Link to this contribution) They may do, but the intention is that they will none the less retain the key building block of any ...
Speaker | 513 c46 (Link to this contribution) Order. We shall now move on to the statement on education funding. I ask Members wishing to leave th...
Andrew Percy | 513 c45-6 (Link to this contribution) If we move forward on House of Lords reform to an elected House, which I would support, will we then...
Nick Clegg | 513 c46 (Link to this contribution) In the Bill that we will publish before the end of the year, we will also propose the electoral syst...
Ian Mearns | 513 c46 (Link to this contribution) The Deputy Prime Minister has repeatedly suggested that the electoral register was inherited from th...
Nick Clegg | 513 c46 (Link to this contribution) Clearly, the system is one that we have inherited from the previous Government, but equally it is ri...
Baroness Clark of Kilwinning | 513 c45 (Link to this contribution) Does the Deputy Prime Minister accept that in poorer working-class areas, fewer people register to v...
Nick Clegg | 513 c45 (Link to this contribution) I accept, of course, that we must all make efforts—as individual Members and, as I said earlier, in ...
David Hamilton | 513 c43 (Link to this contribution) No matter how much gerrymandering the Deputy Prime Minister does, it will not make one bit of differ...
Nick Clegg | 513 c36 (Link to this contribution) By the time the referendum is held, people will have had a whole year; I suggest that that is long e...
Alec Shelbrooke | 513 c37 (Link to this contribution) Will the Deputy Prime Minister confirm that with an approximate 8% reduction in the number of MPs, t...
John Hemming | 513 c32 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that the Deputy Prime Minister has, like me, noticed how the Labour party has mutated from...
Jim McGovern | 513 c44-5 (Link to this contribution) The Deputy Prime Minister seems to accept that chaos occurred both during and following the 2007 ele...
Chris Leslie | 513 c44 (Link to this contribution) Will the Deputy Prime Minister think again about the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for...
Hugh Bayley | 513 c34 (Link to this contribution) We already know that the Prime Minister will campaign for a no vote in the referendum, and many of h...
Lord Brennan of Canton | 513 c40 (Link to this contribution) On the issue of Wales, if the Government received a request from the Welsh Assembly under the Govern...
Subjects
Boundary commissions Constituency size Constituencies Alternative vote British constitution House of Commons General elections Fixed-term parliaments Dissolution Referendums Censure motions
Link
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