§ (1) The next statutory elections of county and borough councillors, district councillors, guardians, and parish councillors shall, subject to the limitations hereinafter contained, be postponed, or, in the case of elections already postponed under the Elections and Registration Act, 1915, the Parliament and Local Elections Act, 1916, the Parliament and Local Elections Act, 1917, or the Parliament and Local Elections (No. 2) Act, 1917, further postponed, for a year; and the term of office of the existing councillors and guardians shall accordingly be extended, or further extended, by one year.
§ This provision shall apply only where the next statutory election (whether a postponed election or not) would take place before the first day of March, nineteen hundred and nineteen.
§ (2) Section two of the Elections and Registration Act, 1915, and paragraphs (2) to (10) (inclusive) of the Schedule to the Parliament and Local Elections Act, 1917, subject to the substitution in paragraph (7) of four years for three years as the period by which the term of office of an alderman of a municipal borough is extended, and except the provisions of paragraph (10) relating to the revision of jurors lists in Ireland, shall be deemed to be incorporated in this Section as though they were set out therein, and expressly made applicable to the provisions thereof.
§ Sir HENRY HARRISI beg to move, in Sub-section (1), to leave out the words "This provision shall apply only where the next statutory election (whether a postponed election or not) would take place before the first day of March, nineteen hundred and nineteen."
The object of my Amendment is to provide that the next statutory election for county councils and boards of guardians in England and Wales, which are due in March and April next, respectively, should be further postponed. I understand that 402 the reason the Government draw a distinction between the local elections which are due to take place in November and those due to take place in March and April is that the new registers will barely be ready, if they are ready, for the November election, but that they will be available for the elections which are fixed to take place at the later date. I want to point out that there are strong reasons for the postponement of the county council elections as well as the others. My right hon. Friend the President of the Local Government Board said in Debate on the Second Reading that on this matter we are entitled to ascertain the opinion of the local bodies themselves. I propose, therefore, to place before him the opinion of the London County Council, which have passed the following resolution:
That, inasmuch as the Representation of the People Act, 1918, makes no special provision for enabling persons on war service or absent on war work to be registered as local government electors, or to vote at elections of local government authorities, and as there would be serious practical difficulties under prevailing conditions in holding such elections, and of inducing suitable persons to stand as candidates therefor, the county council is of opinion that the statutory elections of county councillors and guardians due in March and April, 1919, respectively, should be further postponed for a year.That resolution was passed by practically a unanimous vote, only one person, I understand, dissenting. I do not know what are the opinions of county councils generally, but I am inclined to think that the opinion would be adverse to holding elections under present conditions. I should like to enlarge somewhat upon the reasons which are given in the resolution which I have read. First of all, I would point out to the Government that it would be impossible to get a representative election in March next—an election, that is to say, which would include representation of many of the citizens of London, or of the other counties. An enormous number of citizens of London and of other districts will be absent on war service or on war work, and they will not be able to take part in the elections. The position as regards local elections is entirely different to that regarding Parliamentary elections. The Representation of the People Act, 1918, makes special provisions to enable persons on war service to be registered and to vote at Parliamentary elections. No such provision, however, has been made as regards local government elections. All this large number of people who will be able to vote at a 403 Parliamentary election will not be able to vote at a county council election. You cannot, therefore, get a representative election. You really get no proper result. You will not ascertain what is the general opinion of the people interested in that election. I suggest that the Government are going to weaken rather than to strengthen these municipal bodies. If there is an election in March next, what is going to be the immediate result? The immediate result, I know, in London will be that a large number of capable administrators will retire. These are the people who are desirous of retiring now, and are only holding on at the present time till others can take their place. Then, again, I know a great many capable business men connected with the London County Council who are endeavouring to "carry on" at the present time, and who are doing a fair amount of municipal work, but the pressure of whose own businesses is such that if an election is added to the cares of business they will not be able to go on any longer. Therefore you are going undoubtedly to lose the services of a large number of people who are now carrying on the work and who are experienced administrators, and it will be impossible to replace them at present by persons of equal capacity.
§ It being a Quarter-past Eight of the Clock, and leave having been given to move the Adjournment of the House under Standing Order No. 10, further Proceeding was postponed, without Question put.