§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the paper of 17 December 1997 written by Professor Ian McLean of Oxford University on the effect of different proportional representation formulae on the allocation of seats to parties in the European elections with particular reference to his conclusions on the use of the d'Hondt and Saint-Lague divisions. [30826]
§ Mr. George Howarth[holding answer 23 February 1998]: Professor McLean's paper has been read with interest. The Government remain of the view that the d'Hondt divisor is the most suitable one to use for European Parliamentary elections, a view which was endorsed in a division on 26 February when the Committee of the whole House considered the European Parliamentary Elections Bill.