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Friday Volume 606 26 February 2016 No. 121 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Friday 26 February 2016 £5·00 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2016 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 577 26 FEBRUARY 2016 Overseas Voters Bill 578 due course. However, as I suggested, all figures should House of Commons be treated with a degree of caution, because this is so uncertain. Friday 26 February 2016 Mr Chope: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that intervention. What he is saying is that, of the 2 million The House met at half-past Nine o’clock who are eligible at the moment, we registered only 100,000, and many fewer than that actually voted. There is potentially a pool of a lot more who could be PRAYERS registered if the Bill went through and we were able to The Chairman of Ways and Means took the Chair as allow all British citizens living overseas to participate in Deputy Speaker (Standing Order No. 3). our democracy. That, of course, is what happens in a lot of other Overseas Voters Bill countries. Some of those countries organise—indeed, facilitate—voting by their overseas citizens at embassies, Second Reading consulates and other such places. In the recent Turkish elections, the President of Turkey, in a neutral capacity, 9.34 am spent a lot of time visiting other countries in Europe— Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch) (Con): I beg to mainly countries with a significant number of Turkish move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. expatriates—to speak directly to them to encourage them to participate in the election. It gives me great pleasure to move the Second Reading of the Overseas Voters Bill. The Bill was brought forward So what would be the benefit of this? Apart from the in the last Session of the last Parliament, in the run-up benefit to democracy, it would assist in campaigns such to the general election. At that stage, I had a very as one that I very strongly support, which is the campaign helpful response from the hon. Member for East Surrey for an end to the discrimination against British pensioners (Mr Gyimah) who was then Parliamentary Secretary at living overseas. It would mean that those who are the Cabinet Office, who said that the Bill’s key element campaigning to ensure that there is equal treatment would be incorporated in the Conservative party manifesto between British pensioners living overseas and those and implemented after the general election. As a result, living in the United Kingdom would have more clout. we had in our manifesto a commitment to take action At the moment, there are a handful of these people in on this issue. each constituency able to vote, and they cannot really make a difference in the general election, but if more of I brought the Bill forward because too many British them were eligible to vote, and did vote, they would be citizens living abroad are not entitled to vote in general able to lobby much more effectively and we might find elections in this country. Although the Electoral that the Government were more responsive to their Commission made a big effort towards the end of the concerns than they seem to be at the moment. last Parliament, in the run-up to the general election, to register overseas electors, an answer given to me on 5 February by my hon. Friend the Minister—he is on Mr Hollobone: The campaigns that my hon. Friend is the Front Bench today—showed that only 105,845 overseas mounting for electoral justice and pensioner justice are electors were registered to vote in May 2015. He said it legendary. I am glad that he managed to persuade the was not possible to say how many of those who were Government to include in the manifesto a commitment registered actually voted. I know that a number did not on electoral justice. With regard to British pensioners vote because they did not receive their ballot papers in living overseas, presumably Her Majesty’s Government time; indeed, I have had complaints about that from know who these people are and where they live, and erstwhile constituents who now live abroad. they are in receipt of at least some element of their pension. Therefore, given the terms of this Bill, it should Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con): I congratulate not be too difficult for the Electoral Commission to put my hon. Friend on bringing this Bill to the House’s them on the list and get them registered. attention. I am listening to his very good speech with huge interest. He said that 105,000 overseas electors are Mr Chope: My hon. Friend makes a really good registered. What is the total number who could be point; as he says, it should not be too difficult. In the registered were they all identified, as his Bill suggests run-up to the previous election, I encouraged the Foreign they should be? Office to try to get people registered. I also tried to get information out of the Department for Work and Pensions Mr Chope: As with a lot of these things, there is no about enabling it to communicate directly with pensioners. precise answer to my hon. Friend’s very good question, The 15-year rule makes it more difficult to run these but the estimate is probably that 5 million and upwards registration campaigns, because the DWP does not would be eligible, and I see my hon. Friend the Minister know whether an overseas pensioner has been living nodding. overseas for more than 15 years, and removing the rule would make it much easier for it to campaign effectively. The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (John When I was at a meeting discussing these issues with a Penrose): Just to clarify, the figures are a little unclear, member of our embassy staff in Berlin, he told me of as my hon. Friend says. It looks as though about the efforts being made to try to get expats living there to 2 million may be eligible to vote at the moment, and participate in voting, and I am sure that such efforts another 3 million or 4 million on top of that might be were made. However, as is apparent from the figures, enfranchised were we to get rid of the 15-year rule in there is an enormously long way to go. When my 579 Overseas Voters Bill26 FEBRUARY 2016 Overseas Voters Bill 580 [Mr Chope] identity fraud at polling stations and through postal votes. I supported that when I was a member of the hon. Friend the Minister responds, I am sure he will say Political and Constitutional Reform Committee in the that this Bill is premature, as most of my Bills are, but I previous Parliament. hope he will also say what the Government are going to do about implementing their manifesto commitment. Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle): Order. We It is currently a cause of a great deal of frustration are not debating UK domestic issues. I know the hon. for British overseas residents that they are going to find Gentleman would not want to drift away from his it very difficult to participate in the European referendum. point. Some cynics have said that it would be better if we did Mr Chope: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. not allow large numbers from overseas to participate in that referendum, but I think it would be desirable for David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con): I the maximum number of British citizens to be able to thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate. I am do so. After all, we are going to allow Commonwealth intrigued by his proposition on internet voting. As a citizens and Irish citizens living in this country to participate, fellow member of the Political and Constitutional Reform so why were the Government unable to bring forward Committee in the previous Parliament, I can bear testament the Bill to facilitate the extension of the 15-year rule to his prowess and knowledge. He rightly mentioned sooner in this Session so that it could have had a part to utilising the armed forces in an experiment on overseas play in the referendum eligibility campaign? voting. Perhaps Skyping could be used as a method, because face recognition on computers is now very Mr Hollobone: Surely the whole point about electoral sophisticated; indeed, we use it in airports across this registration is that we register people who we believe country and in Europe. Does he agree that this could be have the right to cast their ballot. We never register a way ahead for internet voting by armed forces in people on the basis of which way we think they might overseas territories? vote in a particular election or referendum. Mr Chope: I have to admit to not being an expert in Mr Chope: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Too this area at all. If my children were here, they would say often, we allow cynics outside to misrepresent our policy to me, “When did you last Skype?”, and the answer positions. I think that all democrats would say that the would be, “Never.” I know that there is such a thing as maximum number of British citizens should be entitled Skyping, that other members of my family participate to vote and encouraged to participate in our democracy, in it, and that it is a very inexpensive way of communicating and that, in essence, is what this Bill is about.