HC Deb 18 June 1959 vol 607 cc625-6
11. Mr. E. Johnson

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will amend the regulations govern- ing voting by post at elections so that people moving to a new address, other than in the same borough, can vote by post at local government elections.

Mr. Renton

This would require legislation, of which my right hon. Friend can hold out no prospect.

Mr. Johnson

Can my hon. and learned Friend explain the reason for the anomaly which enables a person to vote by post in the constituency in which he is registered in a Parliamentary election if he has moved but not to vote by post in a local government election if he has moved? What is the reason for the difference?

Mr. Renton

There is a good reason for the difference. A person who leaves a local government area no longer has a stake in the local government of that area and, therefore, no longer has such a strong claim to vote in the local government elections, whereas a person who moves from one constituency to another still has a stake in the Government of the country as a whole, and so the fact that he has moved to another constituency entitles him to vote by post.