Tag Archives: constitutional reform and governance bill

Chris Rennard

Chris Rennard writes… So what was all the fuss in Parliament about?

By Chris Rennard | Sun 20th February 2011 - 9:25 am

Late on Wednesday night Nick Clegg was at the back of the House of Lords to see Royal Assent granted to the Parliamentary Voting Systems and Constituencies Bill.

His presence there emphasised his achievement in getting this Bill through Parliament in time to enable the referendum on switching to the Alternative Vote to take place on May 5th.

Of course people may not vote to change from First Past the Post. But I have never thought that any measure of electoral reform for Westminster would come about without a referendum. The self-preservation instincts of many MPs means that they are never …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 10 Comments
Mark Pack

Carmichael moves to end MP-MSP dual mandates

By Mark Pack | Wed 24th February 2010 - 3:20 pm

Alistair Carmichael, Liberal Democrat Shadow Scotland Secretary, has tabled amendments to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill aimed at bringing an end to MSPs and MPs holding both jobs at the same time.

The amendments follow legislation backed by both the Government and the Conservatives which seeks to end ‘double jobbing’ by Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLAs) who are also MPs. They offer two options:

  • a measure which would end the ability of MPs who are also MSPs to receive salaries from both jobs, along the same lines as the Government and Conservative-backed legislation on MLAs and intended to act as

…

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Posted in Election law, Parliament and Scotland | Also tagged | 6 Comments
Mark Pack

More general election counts set to be held on Thursday following legal change

By Mark Pack | Wed 10th February 2010 - 11:08 pm

The Government has backed a move to amend election law to ensure that general election counts are started on the evening of polling day, exception in exceptional circumstances.

This exception will mean that counts for constituencies where there are severe logistical problems in getting ballot boxes in from polling stations, such as from Scottish islands, are likely to continue to commence on Fridays. However, for other constituencies counts will commence on Thursday evening.

The new clause in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill will require the counting of votes at a UK Parliamentary general elections to commence within four hours of the …

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Posted in Election law and General Election | Also tagged and | 4 Comments
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