§ ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN
§ Mr. Graham PageI beg to move Amendment No. 312, in page 4, line 19, at end insert:
(2) If, apart from section 4(3) above or section 6(2) below, the person presiding at the meeting would have ceased to be a member of the council, he shall not be entitled to vote in the election except in accordance with subsection (3) below.The relevant Amendments to be discussed with this Amendment are No. 313, in line 21, leave out from "vote" to end of line 22 and insert "in addition to any other vote he may have"
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No. 316, in page 9, line 14, in Clause 16, at end insert:
'and if, apart from subsection (6) below, the person presiding at the meeting would have ceased to be a member of the parish council he shall not be entitled to vote in the election
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except in accordance with subsection (3) below".
(3) In the case of an equality of votes in the election of a chairman the person presiding at the meeting shall give a casting vote in addition to any other vote he may have.
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No. 577, in page 206, line 14, in Schedule 2, at end insert:
(2) If, apart from paragraph 2(3) above or paragraph 4(2) below, the person presiding at the meeting would have ceased to be a member of the council, he shall not be entitled to vote in the election except in accordance with sub-paragraph (3) below.
§ No. 578, in page 206, line 18, leave out from "vote" to end of line 19 and insert "in addition to any other vote he may have".
§ No. 902, in page 206, line 43, at end insert "(whether or not he continues until that time to be a councillor)".
§ No. 903, in page 207, line 5, at end insert "under paragraph 3 of Schedule 12 below".
§ No. 904, in page 241, line 31, in Schedule 12, after "if" insert "at that time he remains a councillor or an alderman and is".
§ And No. 559, in page 250, line 10, at beginning insert "Subject to those provisions".
§ Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Robert Grant-Ferris)That is agreeable to me, but the House will understand that we are dealing with Amendments Nos. 312 and 313 now. We shall deal with the others when they arise later on the Amendment Paper.
§ Mr. PageI am obliged. The need for these Amendments arises because although councillors when defeated at the polls resign their seats four days after the poll, those who are chairmen, vice-chairmen, mayors and deputy mayors retain their position until their successors are appointed. Therefore, at the meeting at which their successors are appointed they are entitled to vote. We are following the principle that only those put there as councillors by the electorate should be entitled to take part in a vote on the council. The Amendment would remove the right of the chairmen, vice-chairmen, mayors or deputy mayors to vote in the new council unless a casting vote were necessary and then the person presiding, who may be the previous chairman or vice-chairman, should have the casting vote—but only because he was presiding as chairman, 59 not because he was a councillor in the previous council.
Amendments Nos. 902 to 904 deal with a rather different situation in London, but they bring the London boroughs into line with the rest of the country.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ Further Amendment made: No. 313, in page 4, line 21, leave out from 'vote' to end of line 22 and insert 'in addition to any other vote he may have'.—[Mr. Graham Page.]