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Lords Amendment: No. 96, in page 28, line 1, leave out from beginning to "shall" in line 3 and insert:
In every year after 1974 the ordinary day of election of councillors shall be the same for all local government areas in England and Wales and".
§ Mr. CarlisleI beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.
The effect of the Amendment is to provide that the principle of "all local elections on one day" should not apply to the first elections. Whilst it has been agreed that future elections should all fall on one day, the elections for the first year, next year, are to be on 12th April for counties, 10th May for metropolitan and Welsh districts, and 7th June for non-metropolitan districts in England, and the elections for the communities in Wales are to be on 7th February, 1973. Unfortunately, the phrase stating that the elections should all be on one day applied to next year as well as following years. The purpose of the Amendment is to enable them to be on different dates during 1973.
§ Question put and agreed to.