§ 22 and 49. Sir H. Harrisonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will give the average electorate of parliamentary constituencies in England, Wales and Scotland in which the next General Election will be fought according to the register of February, 1972;
(2) if he will give the electorate of all the parliamentary constituencies in which the next General Election will be fought which on the register 1972–73 total over 80,000 and under 40,000.
§ Mr. SharplesI regret that the information is not yet available.
§ Sir H. HarrisonConsidering the length of time this Question has been down, it would surely have been quite easy to get the information. Would not my hon. Friend probably find that democracy is not working in that it takes many more voters to return a Member of Parliament in England than it does in Scotland? Will he bring in legislation to ensure that democracy works properly?
§ Mr. SharplesLeaving aside the latter part of my hon. Friend's question, the electoral register was published on 16th February this year, and this has to be processed and analysed. It is hoped 1479 that provisional figures will be available in about six weeks' time.
§ Mr. LiptonDoes that answer mean that the Minister accepts the assumption that the next General Election will be fought on the 1972 register?
§ Mr. SharplesNot necessarily, by any means.