RIGHT TO INSPECT NOMINATION PAPERS, ETC. (Hansard, 15 December 1970)

§ The Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Mark Carlisle)
I beg to move, That the Clause be read a Second time.
The Clause results from a point raised by the Opposition in Committee, that electors might not know the basis on which someone standing for election to the local council was eligible.
At present, when the basis of qualification is residence, the person's name would normally appear on the electoral roll. In those few cases where a person had a qualification of residence but his name did not appear on the electoral roll, the public would know the basis of the claim to be eligible to stand because of the requirement that his home address should be on his nomination paper and the details made public.
The Bill adds two new grounds of qualification—occupation of property or having a principal place of work within the area of a local authority; and the 1282 names of people who claim the latter form of qualification would not appear on the electoral roll. Although the nomination paper and the statement of the persons nominated which have to be given by the returning officer would have to contain the home address of that person, it would not show the basis of qualification by which a person with a home address outside the area of the local authority claimed to be able to stand for the council. That information would have to be given to the returning officer by means of the consent to nomination form, which must contain a statement by the person wishing to stand that to the best of his belief he is qualified to stand for election to the council and give the particulars on which that qualification is based.
Both sides in Committee agreed that it was reasonable that people should know, and have the opportunity to know, the basis on which a person standing for the council claimed to be qualified, and we undertook to see to that on Report. The hon. Member for Leeds, South (Mr. Merlyn Rees) put forward a new Clause in Committee with that object.
The purpose of this Clause is to give anyone the right, between the date when nominations are closed and the end of business on the day before the election, to see not only the nomination paper but also the consent to nomination form, so as to check on the basis of qualification claimed by the candidate. I think that this meets wholly the spirit of the new Clause moved in Committee by the Opposition. I do not criticise them for it in any way, but it was not correctly drafted.
I think that it is a fair new Clause and that it will cause little practical difficulty to returning officers or anyone wishing to stand for a council. I believe that it will give the public who are asked to vote anyone to a council the knowledge to which they are entitled of the qualifications of that person.

§ Mr. Merlyn Rees (Leeds, South)
We are grateful to the hon. Gentleman for meeting the point we made in Committee that there should be a right of inspection.
There is no need for me to go over the ground again, but there is also the point raised later on in our Committee discussion by my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, South-East (Mr. Cohen) 1283 that the borough address should appear on the form, because when postal districts were given it was possible to give the impression that a person lived in a borough even though, in fact, he lived outside. The hon. Gentleman even gave us suggestions on how this might be done, in c. 339 of the Committee HANSARD. Did this prove too difficult, or did he, on reflection, think that this should not be done?

§ Mr. Carlisle
I still do not think that this would be justified—this was to go on the nomination form itself—since this further information will now be available. But since this has been raised again, before the Bill reaches another place we will consider again whether this is necessary.

§ Mr. Rees
I do not think that the hon. Gentleman is right in what he says. If he would look again at c. 339, we should be grateful.

§ Mr. Ray Carter (Birmingham, North-field)
I am sorry to have to detain the House at this time of night. I had two Amendments down which, unfortunately, were not called. I rise to relate my points to this Amendment, No. 12—

§ Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Robert Grant-Ferris)
Order. Not on this Clause.

§ Mr. Kenneth Marks (Manchester, Gorton)
The Government have Argued that the final choice was the electors' that they would know that candidates did not live in the area. But it was not a habit of those elected who had a business in the area to inform the electors that they lived outside. We sought in Committee to provide that information about place of residence was put on the polling notice outside the polling station, and suggested that in big city areas, where the postal area far exceeded the borough area, the district of residence should go on the notice. Does the Clause provide that the home address should go on the notice of poll? [Interruption.] I understand that that is being considered.