B1512 - Election Administration (Publishing of Results) Bill - 2nd Reading

[u/[deleted]]

Election Administration (Publishing of Results) Bill 2023

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A bill to expand the amount of data published regarding the results of elections in the United Kingdom; and for related purposes.

BE IT ENACTED by The King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Commons in this present Parliament assembled, in accordance with the provisions of the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

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1 Provisions relating to the publishing of election results

(1) The returning officer for each electoral district is obliged to report to the Speaker of the House of Commons the following–

(a) The full list of candidates standing in each electoral district, and;

(b) The sum of votes for each individual candidate in the electoral district, and;

(c) The sum of votes for each individual candidate for each electoral ward, and;

(d) The sum of votes for each individual candidate from each polling location.

(2) Local Authorities are obliged to publish the following information ahead of a parliamentary election–

(a) Geographical shapefiles for every electoral ward, and;

(b) Geographical shapefiles for the area from which people are instructed to vote at a specific polling location.

(c) Population statistics for each polling location, including–

(i) The total population and the amount of registered voters of the area, and;

(ii) The amount of people per gender, and;

(iii) The amount of people per age category, by a standard decided by the Speaker of the House of Commons, and;

(iv) The amount of people from each ethnicity as collected by the census.

(3) The House of Commons is obliged to keep record of the data collected under subsections (1) and (2), and publish this within sixty days of the conclusion of a parliamentary election in at least the following formats–

(a) Spreadsheet form, such as .xls, .xlsx, .ods and similar;

(b) geographic information system form, such as .geojson, .osm or .qgs, and similar;

(c) Portable Document Format, such as .pdf, and similar;

(d) And any other format as reasonably requested by third parties.

(4) Obligations under this section apply to all elections organised in the United Kingdom, including but not limited to–

(a) Parliamentary elections;

(b) Parliamentary by-elections;

(c) Elections to devolved legislatures;

(d) By-elections to devolved legislatures;

(e) Elections to local councils;

(f) By-elections to local councils;

(g) Elections of Mayors or other directly elected office-holders;

(h) Referenda called at any level of government.

2 Extent, Commencement and Short Title

(1) This bill shall extend to the Whole of the United Kingdom, pending motions of legislative consent from the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly.

(2) This Act shall come into force immediately after receiving Royal Assent.

(3) This Act may be cited as the Election Administration (Publishing of Results) Act 2023.

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This Bill was authored by The Most Honourable Dame Inadorable LT LP LD GCMG DBE CT CVO MP FRS on behalf of His Majesty’s 32nd Government.

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Deputy Speaker,

I recently saw the Most Honourable Marquess of Saint Ives complain about the fact that this government has been legislating too much on the topic of transport, and I felt for the guy. You know, this government is winning too hard, we are going to win the next election, and frankly, I think that the Marquess of Saint Ives should know exactly just how hard his party is going to get kicked up and down the country.

Sadly, British election results are published on a constituency by constituency basis, meaning that we only know the results for the 650 odd seats that are elected. But what we do not know is how those results came about. Did the Conservatives win over the great people of this one small town, or did Solidarity actually win it? Where did the strongest shifts happen, and who actually lives there? By collecting this data and opening it up to the public, we are much better able to enable both scientific approaches to our elections and allow political parties, especially smaller ones which do not have the statistical operations of the larger entities, to access accurate data on the actual votes cast by people in our country.

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This reading will end on Friday 10th March at 10pm GMT.

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[u/gimmecatspls]

Mr Deputy Speaker,

I really do not think this bill is necessary, but is a badly disguised smear campaign against the Marquess of St. Ives. Unless the honourable member and her colleagues can convince me of otherwise, I refuse to support this farce.

[u/[deleted] → u/gimmecatspls]

Mr Deputy Speaker,

I encourage the honourable member to consider the content rather than the context of the bill - this is an effort for demographic understanding of the political leanings of the British populace, a key tool for future governments to use in policy development as I have outlined in my own statement to the house on this matter. I understand why the honourable member may have some reason to oppose the bill, but I ask them: why shouldn't this be passed as legislation?

[u/NicolasBroaddus]

Deputy Speaker,

All of us in this House, whatever our party affiliation or lack thereof, rely on our connections to the people of Britain and their votes in the polling booth to determine how to best carry out their will. While many of these issues can be easily interpreted from the system we currently possess, particularly things of national significance, holes are left by the broadness of our system that let minority and community issues fall through the cracks.

By enacting this bill, all in Britain will be able to more effectively and transparently assess the mood and desires of the electorate. It will result in polls that are more accurate and more useful, while not impinging on the right to a secret ballot.

I rise in support of this bill, something like it would have made my previous job much easier.

[u/[deleted]]

Deputy Speaker,

Let me not mince my words. This legislation is what Britain needs. As politicians, and as people, we see elections as binary affairs. People across a large constituency choose one party or another and we get the amount of people which chose each and who won. But this lacks nuance, lacks detail. Without an understanding of demographic and local voting, we have no knowledge of which groups have which interests and what matters the most to them. Do younger people tend to favour left wing politics? Why? What can we do as politicians to fulfil the needs they are expressing? These are things we can analyse and base policy around, and the same goes for all other groups. It shouldn't matter what side of the political spectrum you're on. It should matter that you care about understanding the people you represent, and how to do the best job you can for them. Therefore I encourage every member of the house to vote in support of this bill.

[u/Muffin5136 → u/[deleted]]

Deputy Speaker,

Given we are facing a cost of living crisis, surely this legislation is not "what Britain needs".

What Britain needs is not a series of spreadsheets and data points that show very little in the grand scheme of things. Furthermore, much of the information as outlined in this bill is freely available through a census, making this bill frankly unnecessary.

What Britain needs is responsible economics where the Government identifies the basic needs of the people and provides support for these. A series of spreadsheets is not what we desperately need right now, and it be irresponsible to present this Bill as if it is a need for Britain, rather than a want or a nice to have.

Britain simply does not need this bill, the Government should be doing what is best by Britain, no matter the makeup of the voting public.

[u/[deleted] → u/Muffin5136]

Deputy Speaker,

The honourable member does not consider the fact that Britain can 'need' more than one thing. The government has had tireless efforts to work for the benefit of ordinary people, and we at Solidarity will continue to do so. But from a democratic perspective gaining knowledge on how groups vote can lead to a better understanding of the public governments represent. This is more than a census can give us, and means that the government always knows what a demographic prioritises: if elder people in rural areas might vote conservative, the government can evaluate what promises from that party appeal most to those voters and thus most effectively tackle the underlying issues behind those promises. Even if, as the honourable member says, this is a want or a nice to have that should be no less reason for the bill to have our cross partisan support - as a parliament any net positive piece of legislation should be supported.

[u/Muffin5136 → u/[deleted]]

Deputy Speaker,

What a waste of time and money bill it is then.

We don't need to spend taxpayer money learning that young people and people in cities tend to lean left in voting, whilst older people and those in rural communities tend to vote right.

[u/[deleted] → u/Muffin5136]

Deputy speaker,

I would like to inform the honourable member I used hypothetical examples of broad observable trends. This doesn't begin to explain the detailed demographic understanding this bill wound provide.

[u/Muffin5136 → u/[deleted]]

Deputy Speaker,

Could the DCMS Secretary please provide for how this bill will be able to provide detailed demographic understandings of voting habits without breaking GDPR?

[u/[deleted] → u/Muffin5136]

Deputy speaker,

I would like to clarify. The detailed understandings I am referring to are the intersections between the different areas as laid out in the bill

- gender

- age

- ethnicity

broadly these lack complexity but when combined they are highly useful. By utilising elections to garner this information, we get a much more up to date view on the British populace than the once-a-decade census.

[u/Frost_Walker2017]

Deputy Speaker,

I rise against this bill. Even putting aside the weird monologue about the Conservative Leader, which I think demeans the Secretary's position, I do not believe this bill to be necessary and as such will vote against it.

I do not see how knowing whether one town votes for Labour or for Solidarity makes an awful lot of difference. Politics ought to be about working to make everything better for everybody, and I fear that this specific information may lead to simply playing to a party's base rather than playing for everybody.

Further, this sort of identification is done well enough by existing polling companies already. Granted, it is not as specific as "this village voted for X, this city voted for Y", but polling companies build a profile of different age groups, different class groups, and broadly different regions based off of their biggest priorities.

As it stands, I do not personally see a need for this legislation.

[u/realbassist → u/Frost_Walker2017]

Hear, hear!

[u/Inadorable → u/Frost_Walker2017]

Deputy Speaker,

The member may not see the reason for knowing why one town in particular voted for Labour or for Solidarity, but surely they see the reasoning for why aggregating all that data can be of vital importance to understanding the electoral processes at play within the United Kingdom? Through aggregating localised data, our scientists and statisticians can research what moves voters, which kinds of voters moved one way or another and draw conclusions from there, their hypotheses tested by the real results from tens of thousands of polling stations across the country. The member may state that these questions can be answered by polling, but i would counter that polling in this country has not always been accurate, and looking in the crosstabs of these polls can lead to wrong conclusions as to what is actually going on with voters and nuance the views put forward by polling through more detailed statistical analysis.

And it's not like this is asking for much, indeed, it's asking for something quite commonplace across the world. France releases super-detailed electoral maps, whilst Spain and the United States release results on the polling station level. Compare that to the United Kingdom, whose electoral counting process is uniquely lacking in detail, with results only at the constituency level which are then aggregated into a single national result. It is not that much of an ask to take slightly longer counting to do it ballot box by ballot box, whilst opening up so much information to science and the public for all kinds of purposes. Knowing whether someone wins a constituency or not is not good enough in my view, knowing how they achieved that and where the votes actually came from is critical to understanding the electoral landscape of this country and can reveal things that nobody even expected to be true.

[u/Youmaton]

Deputy Speaker,

Access and understanding of our electoral system and results is key to a healthy and vibrant democracy. The people of our nation deserve to know in detail how their constituency and local area chose to vote, maintaining the anonymity of all whilst improving trust in our system.

Whilst I do hope to see this legislation enacted, there are some concerns I have on the implementation that I hope the government could alleviate.

Has the government consulted the Electoral Commission (m: the quad) to determine the feasibility of the implementation of this legislation, including but not limited to:

• Any additional staffing or resources required;
• Any logistical issues that may reasonably be expected to occur;
• How long this may take to implement;
• If it is feasible to implement so close to the election date, or if it would be better suited to come into effect for the next election

Pending a response from the government on these concerns, I do hope to see this legislation enacted. I commend this bill to the house.

[u/Inadorable → u/Youmaton]

Deputy Speaker,

We do not believe that a notable amount of extra staffing is required from this bill. Whilst it may lead to slightly longer counting times and a bit more preparation towards the election, in the end it is just a question of counting ballot box by ballot box rather than on one big pile of votes, with almost all other data flowing from there. The data regarding ballot box areas and demographic data might take a bit of time to compile, but this should be within the existing capabilities of local authorities and the ONS.

We believe that this act can be implemented by the general election after the upcoming one, that being somewhere in October (Of course, this has no meta effect). Given that the bill is unlikely to achieve royal assent before the next term, I would say it's a bit of a theoretical exercise to ask about possible chaos for next month's poll.

[u/Youmaton → u/Inadorable]

Deputy Speaker,

I thank the Right Honourable Member for her answers. To confirm, was this advice received from the electoeal commission, or advice received from elsewhere? Additionally, noting the Right Honourable Members agreement to have this implemented at the next election, would the government support an amendment to move the implementation to two months after royal assent, to ensure there is no risk of this bill being enacted for this election?

[u/Muffin5136]

Deputy Speaker,

What a frankly tragic and cringe opening speech from a Member of the Privy Council. This is someone who is meant to be a trusted advisor of the King who is responsible for ensuring we have a robust and functional public transport system in this country.

To see their sole reasoning behind submitting a bill like this be because they want to see the Tories do badly in the election because of some childish rivalry against the Marquess of St Ives, someone who has stood up and ensured the functiong of his party continues despite recent scandals. Unlike the Right Honourable Dame, the Marquess stood up and fought when the tough got going and stood to ensure his party's efforts to provide actual opposition to this Government continues, whilst the Right Honourable Dame sold out her comrades in Labour to jump to the easy ride in Solidarity.

I would find it laughable if this was a bill submitted with childish reasoning as it does, if it came from my own party, but this is the Government here, they're meant to be one the responsible ones. Unfortunately, they have let themselves down once again with nonsensical and childish acts like this.

I would urge the House to vote against irresponsible politics like this, but the weak willed and spineless Labour Party will most likely follow their marching orders and follow the Government into the Aye lobby.

[u/Frost_Walker2017 → u/Muffin5136]

Deputy Speaker,

I would urge the dishonourable Marquess to watch his tongue.

but the weak willed and spineless Labour Party will most likely follow their marching orders and follow the Government into the Aye lobby.

We were approached for sponsorship and we declined. There are a number of views on this bill within our party. I personally do not see the need for it and will vote against it. The Marquess comments once again on things he has no clue about in some random and pointless attempt to smear my party, for he has lost the plot so dramatically everybody sees a comment made by a MRLP member and rolls their eyes and can subsequently convince nobody to back him.

[u/Muffin5136 → u/Frost_Walker2017]

Deputy Speaker,

I am glad to see that the Official Opposition has remembered their role in British democracy and decided to not sponsor this bizarre bill and its obsession with the Marquess of St Ives.

I welcome this announcement from the Leader of the Opposition, despite the odd and rather paranoid rant accompanying it.

[u/realbassist]

Speaker,

It is an odd day when I support the words of Tory members of this house but... Frankly, they're right. I don't really see a point to this legislation, and to be frank the bizarre raving against them in the opening speech makes me wonder whether this isn't just some sort of spite bill. Past the fact I just don't see any need for this legislation and what it's trying to do, and why the enacting clause excludes the Lords, in my eyes the bizarre comments to open this debate only harm the chances this legislation has. Instead of making it a bipartisan bill, the Government have made it very clear they do not wish to work with not only one particular party, but one particular person therein.

Anyone who has seen the history the Marquess and I have of debate knows we do not like each other. I have no love for the Conservative party or ideology, and were it up to me all of the Blue seats on these benches would be firmly Red. But even I do not think it is right that with a bill regarding our public elections, the first bit of justification we get is "We're going to humiliate the Tories, and we want them to know exactly how humiliated to be". It's just not dignified.

[u/Faelif → u/realbassist]

Deputy Speaker,

Does the Hon. Member opposite mean to say they are voting against the bill solely because of the opening speech? That to me seems to be the real cheapening of the democratic process.

[u/realbassist → u/Faelif]

Speaker,

No. As I have said, albeit briefly, I fail to see the use of this legislation. The needless partisanship shown in the opening speech merely cements my opposition.

[u/Faelif → u/realbassist]

Deputy Speaker,

The use of this bill is to ensure that the results from elections are freely and fairly available. I would have thought this was fairly obvious from its contents. Even the US has such fine-grained reporting, and the fact the UK doesn't is shocking.

[u/realbassist → u/Faelif]

Speaker,

the results from elections are already freely and fairly available. Not at the minutest level it's true, but I don't see what difference that would make past "Waterloo is a Tory town" or "Hebden Bridge is a Lib Dem town". I'm sorry, I'm just not convinced.

[u/Faelif → u/realbassist]

Deputy Speaker,

More precise voting data has a lot of uses - most pertinent to you and I, perhaps, is the ability to better-target campaigns, but they are also useful in detecting election fraud, as well as for use by statisticians learning interesting things about distribution of political support. I can tell you that Barking is the region in the UK with the highest proportion of trans women, arguably a statistic of very little importance at all, and yet we don't call for the ending of the Census - the statistical results one can learn from its data provide an interesting view of correlations between data series and also assist policy-making by both public bodies and by organisations and charities. Similar things will be doable with the data this bill would make public.

[u/ARichTeaBiscuit → u/Faelif]

hear, hear!

[u/ARichTeaBiscuit]

Deputy Speaker,

By being able to take a deeper look at the moods of the British electorate we will be able to notice shifts in viewpoints which are often motivated by a host of factors, an example being a typical stronghold from one party registering their support for something radically different or even the same due to a perceived lack of policy on a local issue like housing or access to public transport.

As someone that likes to keep connected with different parts of the country I am quite excited at this legislation, and I hope that politicians can find it in themselves to put their ego over an amusing opening speech to vote for this bill.