Isobel White Archives

Research Briefing

Electoral Administration: draft legislation relating to electoral timetables, polling place reviews and the use of emblems on ballot papers

Wednesday, 15 February, 2012

On 13 July 2011 the Government published draft legislation on three electoral administration provisions for pre-legislative scrutiny. Further draft electoral administration proposals were published on 14 September 2011. The draft legislation forms part of a larger package of measures including draft legislation on individual electoral registration (IER). The Political and Constitutional Reform Committee examined the Government’s proposals for individual electoral registration and the other electoral administration provisions at the same time and published its report on 4 November 2011. The Government published its response to the PCR Committee’s report on 9 February 2012.
- Research Briefing
- Elections
Research Briefing

Speaker’s Conference on Parliamentary representation

Monday, 09 January, 2012

This standard note provides a summary of the main recommendations of the Speaker’s Conference on Parliamentary representation which published its final report in January 2010.
Research Briefing

AV and electoral reform

Tuesday, 12 July, 2011

The Coalition Programme of May 2010 included a commitment to introduce a Referendum Bill on electoral reform. The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill was introduced on 22 July 2010 and made provision for the introduction of the Alternative Vote system for the House of Commons if there is a positive result in the referendum to be held on 5 May 2011. The Bill received Royal Assent on 16 February 2011. This note provides a summary of the main provisions of the Act; full details on the introduction of the Bill are given in Library Research Paper 10/55.
- Research Briefing
- Elections
Research Briefing

The Parliamentary Voting system and Constituencies Bill: summary of amendments

Monday, 21 February, 2011
Research Briefing

Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill: Lords stages

Tuesday, 15 February, 2011

This Note summarises the Lords stages of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill 2010-11. It supplements Research Paper 10/55 which was produced for the Bill's second reading in the House of Commons and Research Paper 10/72 which summarises all the Commons stages of the Bill.
Research Briefing

Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill 2010-11: Commons Stages

Thursday, 11 November, 2010

This Paper summarises all Commons stages of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill 2010-11. It supplements Research Paper 10/55 which was produced for the Bill’s Second Reading and replaces Standard Note 5697 'Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill: Progress of the Bill'. No major changes were made during the passage of the Bill in the Commons, but the text of the referendum question was altered and legislative provision was made for the combination of polls on 5 May 2011.
Research Briefing

The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill [Bill 63 of 2010-11]

Wednesday, 01 September, 2010

This Paper has been prepared for the Second Reading debate in the House of Commons. The Bill seeks to enable the next general election to be fought under the Alternative Vote system, provided this change is endorsed in a referendum on 5 May 2011 and boundary changes have been made to reduce the size of the House of Commons to 600. New rules for the redistribution of seats are designed to give primacy to numerical equality in constituencies and regular redistributions would take place every five years.
Research Briefing

Redistributing parliamentary boundaries: some international comparisons

Wednesday, 28 July, 2010

This note describes how constituency boundaries are redrawn in a number of other countries: Canada, Australia, the USA and France. Much of the material in the note is taken from a key text on the subject, Redistributing in comparative perspective edited by Lisa Handley and Bernard Grofman.
Research Briefing

Parliamentary constituency boundaries: the Fifth Periodical Review

Wednesday, 28 July, 2010

This note gives details of the fifth periodical review of Parliamentary constituencies.
- Research Briefing
- Elections
Research Briefing

Reducing the size of the House of Commons

Wednesday, 28 July, 2010

The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill was introduced on 22 July 2010 and introduces new Rules for Redistribution which make provision for the number of constituencies to be reduced to 600. This note looks briefly at the current Rules for Redistribution and at recent calls for the Rules to be changed; details of the length of time it has taken to carry out periodical reviews of Parliamentary constituencies are also given. A summary of the Bill's main provisions is also included.
Research Briefing

Timing of Parliamentary election counts

Friday, 23 April, 2010

There has been speculation in the press about the timing of counts at the general election. This note looks at the statutory requirements concerning the count and summarises recent reports suggesting that the count will be moved from Thursday night to Friday in certain areas.
Research Briefing

Progress of the Political Parties and Elections Bill 2008-09

Monday, 27 July, 2009

The Political Parties and Elections Bill was introduced into the House of Commons on 17 July 2008 and was carried over from the 2007-08 session. The Bill received Royal Assent on 21 July 2009. This Note summarises the debates and changes made to the Bill in the House of Commons and the House of Lords after Committee stage in the Commons
Research Briefing

Local Democracy, Economic Development & Construction Bill [HL]: Democracy and involvement aspects (Bill 93 of 2008-09).

Friday, 15 May, 2009

This paper covers parts 1 to 3 of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]. The Bill implements a number of community empowerment measures outlined in the white paper - Communities in Control: real people, real power (Cm 7427). Other provisions concern a) tenants' representation, b) audit of entities connected with local authorities, and c) replacement of the Boundary Committee for England with an independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England. See also Library Research Paper 09/46, for coverage of parts 4 to 8 of the Bill which relate to economic and regional matters and construction contracts.
Research Briefing

Election timetables

Wednesday, 13 May, 2009

This Research Paper sets out the model timetables for Parliamentary general elections and by-elections.
Research Briefing

Candidates’ addresses on the ballot paper

Monday, 16 March, 2009

A new clause was added to the Political Parties and Elections Bill at report stage on 2 March 2009 which would allow candidates to withhold their home address from publication. There has been a provision to require a candidate to give his home address on the nomination form, from where it is transferred to the ballot paper, since the Ballot Act 1872. This Note looks at the background to this requirement and at earlier calls for the practice to be discontinued.

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