§ 6. Mr. James Gray (North Wiltshire)If he will make a statement on publicity for the elections to the Scottish Parliament in May 1999. [56106]
§ The Minister for Home Affairs and Devolution, Scottish Office (Mr. Henry McLeish)Next May's elections to the Scottish Parliament will be the first to be held in Scotland under the additional member system. 670 We believe that the right to vote must also mean a right to understand, and we therefore intend to make sure that voters are properly informed about the change.
§ Mr. GraySome commentators have scurrilously suggested that the £2 million campaign which the Government propose is designed to shore up their flagging support in the forthcoming elections. Leaving that on one side, does the Minister not agree that that expenditure falls into roughly the same category as expenditure in Government information campaigns before referendums? If so, does he intend to be as dismissive of the Neill Committee in that area as he was last week? [Interruption.]
§ Mr. McLeishI am reminded from my Back Benches that we also read the polls. They would be instructive reading for the Conservatives, should they keep reading them, especially between now and the May elections in Scotland next year. There is something ironic and paradoxical about such an attitude coming from a party that will be sent a life line through the additional member system because it has not a hope of winning in a first-past-the-post contest in Scotland in the near future.
We are creating a Scottish Parliament, which is a new institution, and a new method of voting, which is a simple, commonsense way forward. Surely it must be right that people understand that system, and we are seeking to hold a public information exercise that matches the aspirations of the Parliament. It will help the people of Scotland in the run-up to the elections, and I certainly hope that all parties represented in this House will endorse the principle that we need to educate the people of Scotland in relation to the specific additional member system, which involves not only one, but two votes. It is vital that that is made clear.
§ Mrs. Maria Fyfe (Glasgow, Maryhill)My hon. Friend will be familiar with the problems of elderly people who have to try to get to a polling station that is up a steep hill or about a mile from their home, even though they may have a school next door to them. Will he consider what influence he can bring to bear on the electoral registration people to ensure that that sort of nonsense is brought to an end, especially for the first elections to a Scottish Parliament?
§ Mr. McLeishI can reassure my hon. Friend that we are considering those issues. It is vital that there be no practical or physical impediments to people voting. We are concerned about older people, and we are also targeting younger people and those with special needs, so that they can use the ballot boxes in the polling stations to the best advantage. That is high on our agenda, and I reassure my hon. Friend that we are closely considering any possible improvements that we can make.
§ Mr. Oliver Letwin (West Dorset)In the light of the Minister's answer to my hon. Friend the Member for North Wiltshire (Mr. Gray), and his response and that of his colleagues to Lord Neill's report, does he understand the widespread scepticism about the Government spending millions of taxpayers' pounds on a mass information campaign? Will he give the House a 671 categorical assurance that, before it is published, the Government will put the entire campaign before Lord Neill for him to review its neutrality?
§ Mr. McLeishWe do not recognise such widespread scepticism, because there is none. That is Conservative Members' interpretation. They obviously do not visit Scotland or speak to Scots, because they are out of touch. The basic issue is that the public information exercise is about a new institution and a new method of voting. I urge the Conservatives and members of every other party to endorse the principles of a public information exercise. At the appropriate time, there can be discussions with Opposition parties. This exercise is in the interests of Scotland: it is not about the narrow political interests being pursued by the Conservative party.
§ Mr. Ian Davidson (Gasgow, Pollok)Does the Minister recognise that there is substantial under-registration in many areas of Scotland? That is the legacy of the poll tax, for which the Conservatives are remembered. Will he enable as many people as possible to register by ensuring that local authorities are given a proactive role in chasing up people and giving them the opportunity to vote in the first election for a Parliament in Scotland?
§ Mr. McLeishI can tell my hon. Friend that that has already happened. We were keen to target older people, younger people and those with special difficulties. We have worked with local authorities on a registration campaign in Scotland. I am convinced that that will increase the number of people registered. That is highly appropriate, given the historic setting of the elections for the Scottish Parliament next year.