The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 (c. 1) is an
Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
that made provision for the holding of a referendum on whether to introduce the
Alternative Vote
Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of Ranked voting, ranked preferential Electoral system, voting method. It uses a Majority rule, majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referr ...
system in all future general elections to the UK Parliament and also made provision on the number and size of parliamentary constituencies. The Bill for the Act was introduced to the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
on 22 July 2010 and passed
third reading
A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature.
In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming, ...
on 2 November by 321 votes to 264. The
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
passed the Bill, with amendments, on 14 February 2011, and after some compromises between the two Houses on amendments, it received
Royal Assent
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...
on 16 February 2011.
The Act
The Act brought together two different constitutional aims of the
Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition:
* The Liberal Democrats had long promoted an alternative to
first-past-the-post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
elections and so the Act legislated for the holding of a
national referendum on whether to introduce the
Alternative Vote
Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of Ranked voting, ranked preferential Electoral system, voting method. It uses a Majority rule, majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referr ...
system for the UK Parliament in all future general elections.
* Prior to the
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
, the manifestos of both coalition parties stated that they wished to reduce the number of Members of Parliament from 650: the Conservatives' target figure was 585; the Liberal Democrats' target was 500; the Act set the future number of constituencies as 600. The Act also aimed to fulfil a Conservative aim to reduce the over-representation of Scotland and Wales, relative to the remaining English constituencies. The
Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013
The Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 (c. 6) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
With the Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies in some doubt following the collapse of the House of Lords Reform Bill ...
later delayed implementation of the changes to the number of constituencies until at least 2018, resulting in the 2015, 2017 and 2019 general elections being held without the boundary changes.
Part 1 – Voting Systems for Parliamentary Elections
Part 1 of the Act comprises sections 1 to 9. Section 1 sets out the question to be put to voters, in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
. Section 4 sets out provisions associated with the date of the Referendum, whereby the date for the poll and one or more
2011 United Kingdom local elections,
2011 Scottish Parliament election,
2011 National Assembly for Wales election or
2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election will be taken on the same day. Section 9 set out amendments to the
Representation of the People Act 1983
The Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the British electoral process in the following ways:
* Amended the Representation of the People Act 1969.
* Stated that a convicted pe ...
if the vote was "Yes".
The referendum
The act legislated for a referendum to be held in the United Kingdom on whether to introduce the alternative vote electoral method of electing Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons in all future UK general elections on Thursday 5 May 2011. The referendum would be conducted by the
Electoral Commission
An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
and overseen by an appointed Chief Counting Officer (CCO) and a Deputy Chief Counting Officer (DCCO) who would declare the final result for the United Kingdom. The Electoral Commission is the public body under the terms of the
Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets out how political parties, elections and referendums are to be regulated in the United Kingdom. It formed an important par ...
that was given the task to raise public awareness ahead of polling day, and to oversee the conduct of the referendum.
Referendum question
The question that appeared on ballot papers in the referendum before the electorate under the act was (in English):
In
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, the question on the
ballot paper
A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in secret voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16t ...
also appeared in
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
:
permitting a simple YES / NO answer (to be marked with a single (X)).
Original proposed question
The original proposed question in English was:
In Welsh:
permitting a simple YES / NO answer (to be marked with a single (X)).
This wording was criticised by the
Electoral Commission
An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
, saying that "particularly those with lower levels of education or literacy, found the question hard work and did not understand it". The Electoral Commission recommended a changed wording to make the issue easier to understand,
and the government subsequently amended the Bill to bring it into line with the Electoral Commission's recommendations.
[Parliamentary Voting Systems and Constituencies Bill]
as passed by the Commons (House of Lords Bill 26 of Session 2010–12).
Voting areas
Under the provisions of the Act, the designation of a "voting area" (also known by some as "Counting areas") on the day of the referendum was to be overseen by "Counting officers" (CO) who were to declare the results of their local areas within the United Kingdom and Gibraltar is as follows:
*A district in England for which there is a
district council
*A county in England in which there are no districts with councils (
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
)
*A
London borough
The London boroughs are the 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were all created at ...
*The
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
(including the Inner and Middle Temples)
*The
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of the ...
*A
constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...
of the
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
*A
constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...
of the
Welsh Assembly
The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh ...
in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
*
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
There were a total of 440 voting areas. 326 in England, 73 in Scotland, 40 in Wales and a single area for Northern Ireland.
Regional counts
The act also provides provision for the results from the "voting areas" to fed into twelve "regional counts" to be overseen by "Regional counting officers" (RCO) which were appointed in the following areas and declared the results for their areas as used under the
European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002
The European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002 (c. 24) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom governing elections to the European Parliament.
The Act divided the United Kingdom into various regions to which were allocated a number of ...
but with the exception of
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
which did not participate in the referendum:
*
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...
(40 voting areas)
*
East of England
The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire ...
(47 voting areas)
*
Greater London
Greater may refer to:
*Greatness, the state of being great
*Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality
*Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film
*Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record
*Greater (song), "Greate ...
(33 voting areas)
*
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
(1 voting area)
*
North East England
North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...
(12 voting areas)
*
North West England
North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
(39 voting areas)
*
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
(73 voting areas)
*
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, first level of International Territorial Level, ITL for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of england, ...
(67 voting areas)
*
South West England
South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...
(37 voting areas)
*
Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York.
It is ...
(21 voting areas)
*
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
(40 voting areas)
*
West Midlands
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
(30 voting areas)
The regions each declared their results once all local voting areas had declared their local results late on Friday 7 May 2011. There was no provision under the Act for any national or regional recounts by the Chief Counting Officer and Regional Counting Officers.
Franchise
The right to vote in the referendum applied to UK residents who are British, Irish and
Commonwealth citizens, in accordance with the provisions of the
Representation of the People Act 1983
The Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the British electoral process in the following ways:
* Amended the Representation of the People Act 1969.
* Stated that a convicted pe ...
and the
Representation of the People Act 2000
The Representation of the People Act 2000 (c.2) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that changed the British electoral process in four minor amendments to the Representation of the People Act 1983:
* It removed most restrictions on ...
. Members of the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
were able to vote in the referendum. Citizens of other EU countries resident in the UK were not allowed to vote unless they were citizens of the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
,
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
or
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
. The same Acts permitted UK nationals who had lived overseas for less than 15 years to vote. Voting on the day of the referendum was from 0700 to 2200 BST (
Western European Summer Time
Western European Summer Time (WEST, UTC+01:00) is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time and Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in:
* the Canary Islands
* Portugal (including Madeira but not the Azores)
* t ...
). Also under the provisions of the
Representation of the People Act 2000
The Representation of the People Act 2000 (c.2) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that changed the British electoral process in four minor amendments to the Representation of the People Act 1983:
* It removed most restrictions on ...
postal ballots were also permitted in the referendum and were sent out to eligible voters some three weeks ahead of the vote. The minimum age for voters in the referendum was 18 years, in accordance with Representation Acts (above). A
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
amendment proposing to only make the result of the referendum valid if the national turnout was higher than 40% was defeated in the House of Commons.
Referendum result
![United Kingdom AV referendum area results](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/United_Kingdom_AV_referendum_area_results.svg)
The result was declared by Chief counting officer (CCO) and the then chair of the
Electoral Commission
An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
Jenny Watson on Saturday 7 May 2011 after all 440 voting areas and the 12 regions of the United Kingdom had declared their results on a national turnout of 42%.
[electoarlcommission.org.uk](_blank)
7 May 2011 The decision by the electorate in all four countries was a decisive "No" to adopting the alternative vote system in all future
United Kingdom general elections
This is a list of United Kingdom general elections (elections for the UK House of Commons) since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Ireland, ...
.
Results by counting regions
Results by constituent countries
AV Repeal
The alternative vote system provisions within the Act were repealed following the decisive "No" vote in the referendum on 8 July 2011 via a Statutory Instrument.
[The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 (Repeal of Alternative Vote Provisions) Order 2011](_blank)
SI 2011/1702
Part 2 – Parliamentary Constituencies
Part 2, comprising sections 10 to 13, amends the
Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986
The Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 (c. 56) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overs ...
including replacing Schedule 2 to introduce changes to the boundaries and number of UK constituencies, and the processes for their review. The changes for constituencies include:
* Reducing the number of constituencies in the House of Commons from 650 to 600.
* Specifying that each constituency will be wholly within one of England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. (All existing constituencies already fulfil this requirement.)
* Requiring the electorate of constituencies to be within 5 percent of a "United Kingdom electoral quota" (which is the national average of the number of voters per constituency, calculated after four "protected constituencies" have been removed from the equation). This electorate requirement overrides considerations of local geographical and political boundaries with the following exceptions:
** The two island constituencies of
Orkney and Shetland and
Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles) are explicitly preserved.
** Two constituencies for the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
. (This is an increase from the single constituency
that exists at present.)
** Constituencies covering more than 12,000 km
2 may be lower in electorate than 5 percent below the national average. (Of the current constituencies, this would apply only to the Highland constituency of
Ross, Skye and Lochaber.)
** Where the difference between the electorate of Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom electoral quota multiplied by the number of seats allocated to Northern Ireland exceeds one third of the United Kingdom electoral quota, then the electorate of Northern Irish constituencies shall be:
*** No less than whichever is the lesser of the difference between the average electorate per seat in Northern Ireland and 5% of the United Kingdom electoral quota and 95% of the United Kingdom electoral quota.
*** No more than whichever is the greater of the difference between the average electorate per seat in Northern Ireland and 5% of the United Kingdom electoral quota and 105% of the United Kingdom electoral quota.
* No constituency may be larger than 13,000 km
2.
* A specific allocation method between the four nations of the United Kingdom.
* The four
boundary commissions of the United Kingdom are to conduct constituency reviews before 1 October 2013 and before 1 October of every subsequent fifth year.
* The Boundary Commission for England may consider the boundaries of the regions used for elections to the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
in its processes.
* The link between Westminster and Welsh Assembly constituencies is removed. The government is intending to propose future arrangements for Welsh Assembly constituencies in time for the 2015 Assembly elections.
* "Public Hearings" to hear views about the boundary commissions' proposals, in place of the previous "Local Inquiries".
* The consultation period for the public to submit their views in writing is extended to twelve weeks from four weeks.
Passage of Part 2 through Parliament
The bill instructed the boundary commissions to undertake the
Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies
The 2013 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, also known as the sixth Review, or just boundary changes, was an ultimately unfruitful cycle of the process by which constituencies of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom are reviewe ...
before 2014, which would have involved a significant redistribution of seats between the four parts of the UK and the near-equalisation of constituency sizes by registered electorate. In accordance with this, the Boundary Commissions began a full revision of constituency boundaries with an instruction to reduce the number of constituencies to 600 and to recommend constituencies which are no more than 5% above or below the standard size. However, in August 2012,
Liberal Democrats party leader
Nick Clegg
Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British media executive and former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who has been president for global affairs at Meta Platforms since 2022, having previously been vicepr ...
announced that his party would oppose the implementation of the new constituency boundaries as a reaction to the failure of the government to enact
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
reform. In January 2013, the Government lost a vote on this timetable, which effectively ended the entire process. The boundary commissions were required to produce their reports by 1 October 2013 but they announced the cancellation of the reviews on 31 January 2013.
Schedules
*Schedule 1 deals with the referendum. This section includes information and instruction relating to the role and responsibilities of Returning Officers, Counting Officers, the Electoral Commission, and the declaration of the referendum result.
*Schedule 2 outlines the administrative and logistical rules behind the referendum, including ballot paper design, polling station provision, the nature of the counting of the votes and the ballot box design.
*Schedule 3 amends the rules on proxy and absent voting.
*Schedule 4 amends or appeals existing Representation of the People Acts and Electoral Administration laws with relation to all aspects of the referendum campaign and polling day.
*Schedules 5 to 8 set out how the referendum and local/devolved assembly elections will be combined.
*Schedule 9 builds regulations relating to funding, loans and permitted financial transactions during the referendum campaign.
*Schedule 10 amends regulations relating to the conduct of polling day in the event of the United Kingdom adopting the alternative vote.
*Schedule 11 outlines consequential amendments and repeals.
The Act does not alter the structure and independence of the various boundary commissions that are responsible for carrying out reviews of constituencies.
Commencement
As per section 19, the majority of the provisions of the Act came into force upon
Royal Assent
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...
. However, under section 8, the alternative vote provisions could have come into force only if more votes were cast in the referendum in favour of the answer "Yes" than in favour of the answer "No"; and the
Order in Council
An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' Ki ...
giving effect to the new boundaries had been made. In any case, the referendum was resoundingly defeated, and so the alternative vote provisions were repealed on 8 July 2011.
Timeline
The initial timeline for consideration of the Bill was set out at the beginning of the process.
*6 September 2010. Commons: Second Reading
*12–25 October 2010. Commons: Committee Stage (line-by-line discussion, amendment and alteration of the bill by a Committee of the whole House)
*1–2 November 2010. Commons: Report Stage
*2 November 2010. Commons: Third Reading
*15–16 November 2010. Lords: Second Reading
*30 November 2010. Lords: Committee Stage
*February 2011. Conclusion of Lords stages and Royal Assent
The Bill passed through the House of Commons on schedule. The committee stage in the House of Lords began on 30 November 2010, and on the second day of Committee stage debate the Government were defeated when an amendment moved by
Lord Rooker allowing the date of the AV referendum to be varied from 4 May 2011 was carried by 199 to 195.
Labour Parliamentarians opposed the sections of the Bill relating to constituencies, asserting that it amounted to a '
gerrymander
In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...
', and urged the Government to divide the Bill into two so that the section relating to the referendum on voting systems could be passed swiftly. The Prime Minister dismissed requests that the two elements of the Bill should be split.
By the middle of January, with the Bill having had eight days of consideration in Committee in the House of Lords, the Government voiced concern about the length of time being taken for a Bill which needed to be enacted by 16 February in order to allow the planned referendum to take place in May. Three of the Lords' four sitting days in the following week were set aside for the Bill and the Prime Minister's spokesman commented that some could be long days, with the House possibly sitting all night. The
Leader of the House of Lords
The leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The post is also the leader of the majority party in the House of Lords who acts as ...
,
Lord Strathclyde, complained that "the Labour peers are on a go-slow" and
filibuster
A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...
ing the Bill. He was reported to be considering introducing a guillotine motion to the debate, which would have been an unprecedented move for the House of Lords.
On 17 January, consideration of the Bill in Committee began at 3:10 PM. After a dinner break for an hour in the evening, at 11:38 PM the House had completed debate on only one amendment.
Lord Trefgarne moved a rare
closure motion "that the question be now put" which was carried, bringing an end to debate on a second amendment. After fending off Labour attempts to adjourn the House at 12:14 AM, 3:31 AM, and 9:01 AM, the sitting continued until 12:52 PM on 18 January. In order to keep Peers present during the all night sitting, the Coalition provided refreshment and arranged for celebrity Peers such as
Julian Fellowes
Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford, (born 17 August 1949) is an English actor, novelist, film director and screenwriter, and a Conservative peer of the House of Lords.
He is primarily known as the author of s ...
and
Sebastian Coe
Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British politician and former track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including 1500 metres gold medal ...
to give talks. Parliamentary officials turned two committee rooms into makeshift dormitories for male and female Peers. During the whole sitting, only eight amendments were debated.
The convenor of the
Crossbench Peers,
Baroness D'Souza
Frances Gertrude Claire D'Souza, Baroness D'Souza, (''née'' Russell; born 18 April 1944) is a British scientist and politician. She held the office of Lord Speaker from 1 September 2011 to 31 August 2016.
Early life, education and early career
...
, made it clear that she would strongly oppose any attempt to guillotine debate, and at the end of January Strathclyde announced that (after discussion with Labour through the '
usual channels
"Usual channels" is a term used in British politics to describe the relationship between the whips of the Government and the Opposition. Essentially, this is to obtain co-operation between the two parties, in order to ensure as much business as po ...
') the Government would bring forward a "package of concessions" in order to break the deadlock. The Committee stage concluded on 2 February after 17 days of debate.
Report stage of the Bill in the House of Lords took place on 7, 8 and 9 February 2011, and the Bill was given a Third Reading and passed back to the Commons with amendments on 14 February.
Reaction and analysis
Upon launching the bill, Deputy Prime Minister
Nick Clegg
Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British media executive and former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who has been president for global affairs at Meta Platforms since 2022, having previously been vicepr ...
said that "by making constituencies more equal in size, the value of your vote will no longer depend on where you live, and with fewer MPs the cost of politics will be cut." While
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
promised a referendum for AV in their election manifesto, they announced that they would nevertheless oppose the Bill, saying that the constituency boundary changes would help the Conservatives.
There was strong cross-party opposition to the bill in
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
as the boundary of Cornwall will not be respected when constituency boundaries are drawn up. Commenting on this, Prime Minister David Cameron said "It's the
Tamar, not the
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
, for Heaven's sake." Around 500 people gathered at a rally in
Saltash
Saltash (Cornish: Essa) is a town and civil parish in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It had a population of 16,184 in 2011 census. Saltash faces the city of Plymouth over the River Tamar and is popularly known as "the Gateway to Corn ...
organised by its mayor, Adam Killeya. Guest speakers included
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
MP
Sheryll Murray
Sheryll Murray (formerly Sheryll Hickman; born 4 February 1956) is a British Conservative Party politician and former receptionist. She was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South East Cornwall at the 2010 general election.
...
,
Liberal Democrat
Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology.
Active parties
Former parties
See also
*Liberal democracy
*Lib ...
MP
Steve Gilbert, and
Mebyon Kernow
Mebyon Kernow – The Party for Cornwall (, MK; Cornish for ''Sons of Cornwall'') is a Cornish nationalist, centre-left political party in Cornwall, in southwestern Britain. It currently has five elected councillors on Cornwall Council, and s ...
councillor and deputy leader Andrew Long. Speaking to the crowds, Steve Gilbert said that "This is Cornwall and over there, that's England. When David Cameron said this is not the Amazon he was right... it's much more important." On the same day the
Cornish and Celtic campaigner Michael Chappell announced that he would be going on hunger strike over the boundary issue.
During the bill's second reading in the House of Commons, Nick Clegg said that the bill would help "restore people's faith in the way they elect their MPs" while Shadow Deputy Prime Minister
Jack Straw
John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary ...
called it "deeply flawed and partisan".
In October 2010, the House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee reported on the bill.
Third Report of the 2010–11 Session: Parliamentary Voting Systems and Constituencies Bill
House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee.
References
External links
Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011
– copy of the Act as enacted at the UK government's legislation website.
{{United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, 2011
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2011
Constituencies in the United Kingdom
Electoral reform in the United Kingdom
Referendums in the United Kingdom