§ 36. Mr. Hurdasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider the desirability of raising the candidates' deposit at Parliamentary elections from £150 to a figure more in keeping with present-day values.
§ Mr. SimonI would refer to the Answer given by my right hon. Friend to my hon. Friend the Member for Stockport, North (Sir N. Hulbert) on 21st February.
§ Mr. HurdWhen this matter is further considered in the course of the next two or three years before a General Election, will my hon. and learned Friend note that in order to preserve the deterrent effect of the £150 deposit fixed in 1918 the figure should now be about £450?
§ Mr. SimonThe matter was considered by the Speaker's Conference in 1944, and fresh legislation could not be introduced without a new Speaker's Conference on the subject.