There are definitely some positive aspects to the Bill. But as David Blunkett said recently, the Bill talks about empowering communities yet “does nothing of the sort.” In one of the most centralised countries in Europe, it proposes to concentrate power in still fewer hands.
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Yet now, Labour says it intends to “designate a new Strategy & Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission to reflect the government's priorities for elections and [the] Commission's increased roles and responsibilities.”

Having u-turned once, we hope ministers will u-turn again.

Even after coming to office, Labour ministers were arguing that the Conservative government's change to grant ministers the power to set a Strategy & Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission was “inconsistent with the Commission’s role as an independent regulator."

Jack Straw, on creating the Electoral Commission in 2000: “To undertake its key role at the heart of our electoral arrangements, the Commission must be as independent of the govt of the day as our constitutional arrangements allow, & it must be answerable directly to Parliament & not to ministers.”

In 2022, Labour's spokesperson was clear - no minister should get to set Electoral Commission strategy:

“It is not for this government or any government, be they Labour or Conservative, to dictate the priorities of an independent watchdog, especially one that regulates our own elections.”

The threat to democracy is clear. Help us fight back by contributing to our crowdfunder 👇
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