§ 40. Mr. Callaghanasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what conclusions he has reached on the recent representations made to him by the Progressive Liberal Party of the Bahamas.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydI have made it clear in the House that I shall adhere, in the spirit and in the letter, to the statement I made when I was in the Bahamas last April. The Governor and I have in consultation decided that certain amendments are necessary to the Bill for Electoral Reform, and these will be introduced into the Legislative Council by the Attorney-General on 30th April.
I have, of course, considered the representations made to me by the Progressive Liberal Party of the Bahamas, whose delegation I was glad to see over here, as well as other representations, but none of these representations, from whatever 1093 quarter, have caused me to vary from strict adherence to the statement of last April.
§ Mr. CallaghanI should like to ask the right hon. Gentleman two questions. First, are the by-elections going to take place before the boundaries are changed? There is some doubt that if the boundaries are changed the result may not be what is usually expected. Secondly, how many second votes are people likely to have? Is it true that some people, by judicious purchases of land, may be able to get up to 20 second votes?
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydI have no intention of condoning any arrangement under which the second vote may be exercised in that way. I made the position of myself and my colleagues quite clear when I was in the Bahamas. As to the hon. Gentleman's point about the proposed by-elections, they will take place on the basis of existing constituency boundaries.
§ Mr. CallaghanIs the Minister aware that that is the most satisfactory answer he has given this afternoon?