§ 26. Kevin Brennan (Cardiff, West)What discussions the Committee has had with the Electoral Commission about the level of comprehension among voters of the electoral systems of the (a) devolved Administrations and (b) proposed English regional assemblies. [122058]
§ Mr. Peter Viggers (Gosport)The Electoral Commission commented briefly on public comprehension of the voting system for the National Assembly for Wales and the Scottish Parliament in research reports published in December 2002. The issue is also addressed in the ICM research report on the May 2003 Scottish Parliament elections, published by the commission earlier this month. The electoral system to be used for any regional assemblies has still to be decided.
§ Kevin BrennanI thank the hon. Gentleman for that answer. In the reports, did the Electoral Commission give credence to the opinion put about by supporters of first past the post that the general public are too thick to understand the electoral system used for the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament? Surely the fact that they are bright enough to understand it and use it well, and that it produces a fair result, is a good recommendation that it should be used for English regional assemblies.
§ Mr. ViggersThe commission's reports "Scotland Votes?" and "Wales Votes?", published last year, considered public attitudes to voting systems at the 1999 elections. They indicated that understanding the voting system was a factor affecting the decision on whether to vote in a small percentage in cases. The commission's statutory reports on the 2003 elections in Scotland and Wales will again make use of public opinion research to measure voter comprehension of electoral systems.