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Lords Amendment: No. 77, in page 157, line 32, leave out paragraph 3(1) and insert:
3.—(1) In section 11 (polling districts and polling places), in subsection (2)(b), the words "or in Scotland, each electoral division" shall cease to have effect, and after subsection (2)(b) there shall be added the following paragraph—
(bb) In Scotland, each electoral area established for the purpose of local government elections which is within the constituency, and that part within the
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constituency of any such area which is partly within the constituency and partly within another constituency, shall, in the absence of special circumstances, be a separate polling district or districts;".
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithI beg to move, That this House doth agree, with the Lords in the said amendment.
I suggest that with this amendment we take the following Lords Amendments:
No. 78, in page 157, line 48, at end insert:
; but in the absence of special circumstances the said polling districts shall be those which were last designated for the purpose of parliamentary elections under section 11 of this Act."No. 171, in page 290, line 11, column 3, before "Section 30." insert:In section 11(2)(b), the words "or, in Scotland, each electoral division".These amendments are designed to make the statutory provisions on the defining of polling districts correspond more closely with practice.The effect of the amendments is to provide that the parliamentary polling districts are to be adopted as the polling districts for local elections, unless there are special circumstances. The saving for special circumstances is made in order to allow some latitude in the case where a constituency boundary crosses a local authority electoral boundary. In such a case it might not be possible to use exactly the same polling districts for both parliamentary and local elections.
All we are doing by the amendment is ensuring that what happens under statute corresponds with what is happening in practice.
§ Question put and agreed to.
§ Subsequent Lords amendment agreed to.
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Lords Amendment: No. 79, in page 158, line 35, at end insert:
12. In section 113(3) (person to whom petition questioning local election is presented), for paragraph (b) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—
(b) in Scotland, to the sheriff principal of the sheriffdom in which the election took place or, where the election was in respect of a local authority whose area is situated within more than one sheriffdom, to the sheriffs principal of the sheriffdoms in which the area of the authority is situated.".
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13. In section 117 (constitution of election court, etc.)—
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(a) in subsection (1), for the words after "tried" there shall be substituted the following words—
(a) by the sheriff principal of the sheriffdom within which the challenged election took place; or
(b) where the election was in respect of a local authority whose area is situated within more than one sheriffdom, by the sheriffs principal of the sheriffdoms in which the area of the authority is situated; and where in such a case the sheriffs principal are unable to reach a unanimous decision, they shall state a case for the Court of Session and the Court may pronounce any deliverance which it would have been competent for the sheriffs to make.";
(b) in subsection (2), for the words "by the court" there shall be substituted the words "(unless imposed or made by the Court of Session in consequence of a case stated under subsection (1) above)";
(c) for subsection (3) there shall be substituted the following subsection—
(3) The place of trial shall be such place within the sheriffdom or sheriffdoms in which the area of the local authority is situated as the election court may determine.";
(d) in subsection (4), for the word "sheriffdom" there shall be substituted the words "said sheriffdom or sheriffdoms".
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithI beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.
The amendment inserts new provisions amending Sections 113 and 117 of the Representation of the People Act 1949 so as to make appropriate provision for the lodging of election petitions and for the constitution of election courts in view of the fact that the areas of some of the new authorities fall within one or more sheriffdom.
§ Question put and agreed to.
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Lords Amendment: No. 80, in page 158, line 38, at end insert:
13. In section 166 (Local elections in Scotland excluded from Parts II and III of Act), for the word "1947" there shall be substituted the word "1973 ".".
§ 1.45 a.m.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithI beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.
This is a drafting amendment to alter a reference to the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947 in Section 166 of the Representation of the People Act 1949 918 to a reference to the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.
§ Question put and agreed to.
§ Subsequent Lords amendments agreed to.