NEW WRIT (DAVENTRY DIVISION) (Hansard, 30 March 1943)

§ Sir Richard Acland
I rise formally to oppose this Motion, simply for the purpose of asking four questions, to which I believe I may have a not unsatisfactory answer. The first is Will the Government make a statement on the subject of these by-election registers and/or the more general subject, within a reasonable time, say, before Easter? The second question is, Will that statement contain proposals for putting by-election registers into a somewhat better condition right away? The third is, Shall we have an opportunity of discussing that statement on an occasion which will give us a chance of voting against it if we are so minded? Fourthly, while I can hardly ask for the publication of a White Paper on such a subject, may I ask, Will the Home Secretary give to those Members who are interested in the subject perhaps some informal opportunity of learning the nature of the proposals some two or three days before we 2 have to discuss them? Those are the formal questions, but in addition I should like to put also an informal question. Would the right hon. Gentleman like to have a few words with me on this subject, because I probably have more experience of the actual problem of contested by-elections than any other hon. Member in this House—in war-time—and I might be able to give him useful advice as to what proposals are practicable and what are impracticable from the point of view of the different candidates, their agents, shall we say, and those who support this point of view?

§ The Prime Minister (Mr. Churchill)
The Report of the Departmental Committee on Electoral Machinery did not deal with by-elections. That Report is under consideration by the Government; it involves complicated and important issues, and no statement can yet be made. When the Government has come to its conclusions on the Report it will consider whether any inferences can be drawn as to modifications in by-election arrangements in war-time. While it is the wish of His Majesty's Government that all possible eligible persons should have the right to record their votes, I think it proper to warn the House that the technical and practical difficulties may be formidable. It is in any case not possible for the Government to reach any conclusion as to by-elections meantime, so that I am not able to give an answer of a favourable character to the hon. Member's request. In the meantime constituencies without the services of a Member will naturally expect us to take the usual steps to enable the 3 vacancies to be filled, and I therefore trust the House will assent to the Writ being issued. I gather that the hon. Baronet has volunteered to offer some assistance in these matters to the Home Secretary. That, of course, is a matter which should be settled between the hon. Baronet and my right hon. Friend.

§ Sir R. Acland
As the right hon. Gentleman sees no prospect of improving by-election arrangements, my opposition ceases to be formal and is effective, and if other hon. Members will support me, I shall take the matter to a Division today.

§ Mr. Bellenger
I have no wish to be obstructive in this matter, but my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister will know the seriousness of the situation. At the present moment large numbers of the Armed Forces both here and overseas have no part in the election of their Members, and therefore although the Prime Minister has given us some indication that the Government are considering this matter, I hope that he will be able to come to the House very shortly and give us a much more satisfactory solution of the problem than he has done to-day.

§ The Prime Minister
I do not think there is much prospect of the kind of solution at this time which the hon. Member would wish.

§ Mr. Thorne
May I ask the Prime Minister whether he does not think that in all the constituencies where there is no Member and there is going to be a by-election the constituencies will demand a by-election?

§ Mr. Stokes
May I ask the Prime Minister whether he is aware—as I have no doubt he is—that this Report from the Select Committee was in the hands of the Government some months ago? We have been promised that some statement will be made, and can the right hon. Gentleman tell us——

§ Mr. Speaker
We are dealing now with a particular constituency and not with the general subject of by-elections.

§ Mr. Stokes
On a point of Order. The Prime Minister said that the Government are waiting to investigate this Report, and surely I am in Order in putting to him that the Report has been in the hands 4 of the Government for some three or four months and that we have been promised some statement on several occasions—I myself have. The information we now have is that the Prime Minister holds out no hope, and in that event I propose to support the hon. Baronet.

Mr. Graham White
May I ask the Prime Minister whether expressions of opinion have been received from constituencies in which by-elections are in prospect or any protest has been received in regard to these matters?

§ The Prime Minister
I am not aware of any.

§ Mr. William Brown
Many of us are not anxious to vote against the Government on this Motion, but I am bound to say I think the Prime Minister might have gone a good deal further than he has to-day in trying to meet what is a very serious matter in the constituencies. I want to ask whether the Prime Minister cannot hold out to us the hope of a fairly early statement on this matter. I agree with the observation of the hon. Member for Ipswich (Mr. Stokes) that this Report has been in the hands of the Government for some time, and while one does not look for precipitous haste in matters of this kind when there is a war on, it does seem that the Prime Minister might be able to give us some indication of when he thinks he may be able to say something to the House. If what the Prime Minister has said to us to-day means that there stretches out in front of us a long vista of by-elections to be fought on a completely out-of-date register—[An HON. MEMBER: "On which you got in"]—and on which my majority was only about one-tenth of what it would have been had there been an up-to-date register—many of us will with regret have to vote against the Government. On the other hand, if the Prime Minister can assure us that within a reasonable time we are likely to have a statement which will give satisfaction then the position will be different.

§ Mr. Cocks
I was very disappointed with the answer from the Prime Minister. I wish he had given us a more satisfactory one. In view of the fact that it is entirely unsatisfactory, I have no alternative but to oppose the issue of the Writ, for the following reasons. First, I consider that by-elections at the present time on the existing registers are an absolute farce——

§ Mr. Speaker
The hon. Member must confine himself to this particular by-election.

§ Mr. Cocks
I desire to follow and conform to your Ruling, but the general reasons for not holding any by-election until the register is brought up to date, apply exactly the same to one constituency as to the whole lot. Therefore, ills very difficult to draw a dividing line between the reasons why we should not have a by-election in Daventry until the register is brought up to date and the reasons for the suspension of all by-elections until the Government bring the registers up to date in order that the opinions of our people can be properly recorded. Let us see what happened on the subject at a recent by-election.

§ The Prime Minister
On a point of Order. Ought I not to give notice that, immediately on the resumption of Government Business, I shall again make the Motion for the Writ?

§ Mr. Speaker
No point of Order arises on that. This Motion is a matter of Privilege which can be made at any time.

§ Mr. Thorne
May I ask your Ruling, Mr. Speaker? It seems that every now and again we shall have a repetition of what is going to happen to-day and what happened the other day. Is there any possible way of coming to a final decision on this matter so that we shall not waste the time of the House?

§ Mr. Speaker
I am sure that if the House desires a way of overcoming this difficulty it can be found.