§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans his Department has to increase turnout in(a) London Assembly and mayoral elections and (b) European parliamentary elections. [12581]
§ Mr. ByersAs the Electoral Commission stated in its report on the 2001 general election
responsibility for re-engaging the electorate with the democratic process must rest in large part with the political parties".However, our programme for modernising electoral processes is aimed at improving access to electoral services for all elections. As a first step in October, we, in conjunction with the Electoral Commission and the Local Government Association, invited local authorities to apply to run innovative electoral pilot projects—including all-postal voting and online voting—at next May's local elections. We will consider how to take forward any lessons learned from those pilots in the London Assembly and mayoral elections and in the European parliamentary elections. The Electoral Commission is also examining the underlying reasons for low turnout and we will consider any conclusions they reach very carefully.