§ 65. Mr. Denvilleasked the Home Secretary whether the possibility of altering the existing arrangement for Parliamentary registration so as to facilitate the exercise of the franchise by travelling showmen has been considered and with what result?
§ Mr. H. MorrisonTravelling showmen, like other persons who frequently change their residence, will be in a better position under the new scheme than under the pre-war system of preparing an annual register based on three months' residence during a specified period in the year. Under that scheme a travelling showman could not get a vote unless he happened to be stationed in one place during the particular three months specified the qualifying period, and he was liable, when the next annual register was prepared, to lose his vote unless he again happened to be resident in one place during the whole of the qualifying period. Under the new scheme, if a person is resident in a constituency for any period of two months he will qualify for a vote in that constituency and he will not lose that qualification unless and until he acquires a qualification in another constituency. Once a travelling showman has qualified to be registered, he will be entitled to claim, by reason of the nature of his occupation, to be put on the absent voters list and to exercise his vote by post.