HC Deb 31 January 1918 vol 101 cc1911-3

  1. (1) It shall be the duty of the council, whose clerk is the registration officer for any constituency or by whom the registration officer is appointed, as occasion requires, to divide the constituency into tolling districts and to appoint polling places for the polling districts in such manner as to give all electors in the constituency such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances: Provided that before dividing any constituency in the administrative county of London into polling districts, the authority there for shall send a draft of any scheme for that purpose to the London County Council, and shall take into consideration any representations made to them by the council.
  2. (2) On the exercise of any powers given by this Section the council by whom the powers are exercised shall send to the Local Government Board a report, and publish in the constituency a notice, showing the boundaries of any polling districts or the situation of any polling places constituted as a result of the exercise of the power.
  3. (3) An election shall not be questioned by reason of any non-compliance with the provisions of this Section or any informality relative to polling districts or polling places.
  4. (4) This Section shall not apply to university constituencies.
  5. (5) Nothing in this Section shall affect any polling districts or polling places con- 1912 stituted before the passing of this Act until occasion arises for the exercise of the powers given by this Section.

Lords Amendment read a second time.

Mr. HAYES FISHER

I beg to move, as an Amendment to the Lords Amendment, after Sub-section (1), to insert the. following:

(2) If a local authority, or not less than thirty electors in a constituency, make a representation to the Local Government Board that the polling districts or polling places do not meet the reasonable requirements of the electors in the constituency, or any body of electors, the Local Government Board shall consider the representation, and may, if they think fit, direct the council whose duty it is to divide the constituency into polling districts, to make such alterations as the Board think necessary in the circumstances, and if the council fail to make those alterations within a month after the direction is given, may themselves make the alterations, and any alterations so made shall have effect as if they had been made by the council.

In this provision the expression "local authority" means as respects any constituency the council of any county. borough, urban or rural district, or parish wholly or partly situate in the constituency, or the parish meeting of any parish so situate where there is no parish council.

This is a proposal which simplifies the present law. The Clause enacts that the registration officer shall afford facilities and make arrangements to enable the voters to record their votes. In order that the electors may hate some control over the registration officer in this respect, by the Amendment which we now propose, the Local Government Board, if they are not satisfied that the registration officer has carried out the duties as regards the arrangements for polling districts or stations, may themselves order new arrangements to be made of a more convenient character for the recording of the votes. I think that carries out a desire expressed by many hon. Members.

Amendment to the Lords Amendment agreed to.

Lords Amendment, as amended, agreed to.

Lords Amendment:

After the Clause last added, insert