Conservative Party International Office Conservative Research Department 32 SMITH S UARE LONDON SW1P 3HH Telephone: 01-222 9000 Telex: 8814563 Conpar Chairman of International Office: Sir Anthony Royle KCMG MP Director of Research Department: Alan Howarth Head of International Office: Scott Hamilton T 2r Farlja:aentafby mblvate:7_,;Pic-betary to the Tri2e aowhin, esfeeu, Landon2.2 .1 3eth aeveseter le anthony Hoyle was concerned in case the 2 rioeIthsrliste had seen the enclosed article by pa-yitd Woca ir '2he lice a' ---ea ahilot it is true that the Ihdliticel adanittec of he 'Iuropeah Inchha:ent adopt a re-roort on a Snifors Electors' Trocedure for European electriars this w-eEh:, it to bi no eashno certain that any st).ch reledrt will be endorsed *arija.=,:t as a whole. i2he EiC, will on17 supbort a. prebcoal indl. indind an. elenent of proortionat7 if that eie lent 'in rest-HetPf te of the caz,bers elected. ihe Socialist C,rdnt also has ressrvat about certain aspects of the report as do the Gauff"Ssts. In any event, even if the -far' aneht were to adobt rebort the proposal will have to to before the Council of' hinisters, where it could qurite easily lananIsh for several years. __:lbove all, even if the oroposaio as a bhole were di,dottea toadrtraa and. atTbea isfoediatel7 b7 the sienther ',:::tates, it is widely t-sat thsho would rat:, be tise 'tj instinate pospletelv arinfsts • as-oto l,eftaf the nett e-lectens jn 19O4. acooriarbay-, thatevPr sareP,d does not stand chancP of. beinh fi-o-iehPhfPd Ihe one eSe.ieht of the enercise to the rariewart's eeliberatfs on 'hifcra ilontoral -she' sedure whico. nonid be dei use to ao, ia the open:in-:ow it wania trovide for nhtreducHna votes for en:flash •aniiond. 'Cotes for thPse wanid be useful to •as, :hat ehl7 lenrePan electjons but also ocr dohestis elections. also enc-`ose a note 0 prciaced for the Lord I'dnart- Seal The thP Cha'irtan of the -earty on the Gra....lb's de'leeratifra00 Setn'tor 011 .lectoral 3vs0e013. 1 nape this is of sote 1elp. )/i/V) Q 5 'naturally, or what protected It would equalize democratic vested political interests. values within the European Most of the obvious discrep- Parliament, although small coun- David Wood ancies have been sorted out by M tries would still have to be over- jean Seitlinger, the pathfinder of represented, as Scotland and the political affairs committee Wales are at Westminster, and whose report will be considered Westminster would still keep its in London this week and almost three nominated MEPs. A side door certainly adopted in its essentials. Nevertheless, both friends and To root out the principal flaws foes of PR, at least in Britain, move towards the committee proposes a ought to look twice arid then look compromise between the British again at any seductively dressed- first-past-the-post election and up proposals for a list system. British PR the Continental list system that Strasbourg itself has already established British parties have jibbed at some abuses. Take these For three days this week, starting rightly found repugnant. examples from many. President on Wednesday, some leading The committee's model is the Mitterrand's name stood at the members of the European Parlia- West German electoral system top of the French Socialist list in ment will meet at Lancaster which combines plurality voting the 1979 European election House to prepare proposals that in single constituencies, where a although he had no - serious may turn out to be the thin end candidate with most votes im- intention of taking a seat at of the, wedge for introducing mediately wins, and PR on the Strasbourg; he was there merely proportional representation in parties' declared national or to attract votes. Georges Spenale, England, Scotland and Wales. regional lists. The Seitlinger one of the ablest Socialists in the Leaders of the two main parties report suggests that half the European Parliament — and its at Westminster will not fall in MEPs should be ejected by each former president — had his -name love with the idea at first sight, method, and that each member arbitrarily deleted from the party but surprisingly the Conservative state should determine its own list because he had given offence European Democratic Group has singie constituency and regional to the party leadership. given its blessing to the particu- boundaries. In practice, the M Jacques Chirac, the Gaullist lar form of PR on which number of first_-past-the-post leader, headed his party's Euro- Strasbourg opinion is consolidat- seats gained by a nai-ty would be pean list, attended for a year, and ing for the next direct elections deducted from its PR list entitle- then proposed that aft sitting to the European Parliament in ment though, unlike in West Gaulist members should resign en summer 1984. Germany, each elector would cast bloc and be replaced by the The Treaty of Rome ordains only one vote. Where a seat fell reserves on the party list. Nor is that the European Parliament vacant there would be no by-elec- France alone in offending the should be elected by a uniform tion, as would now happen in Parliament's sense of amour procedure. For June 1979, when Britain; the next name would be propre. After the last election in the first direct elections took taken from the original party list the Irish Republic there were place, there was no hope of or or the seat would be filled "by protests that the Strasbourg time for achieving uniformity, the substitute for the elected replacements had never been and every member state of the representative" (whatever that presented to electors in' the PR (then) Nine was allowed to follow may mean). party lists of 1979, and that they its electoral habit. The pure were therefore no more than principle of parliamentary democ- Clearly some merit may be fairly claimed for such- an nominees of a party caucus. io,cv was consequently flawed in All in all, though- the list many important ways, not only ingenious hvbrid that has proved its efficiency and simplicity in system is well established in because Britain clung to its first- several Community countries that past-the-post method, whereas West Germany. It would preserve direct constituency represen- everlastingly proclaim the demo- everywhere else (except in cratic virtues of PR arid heap Danish Greenland) some form of tation of the British kind, scorn on Britain's first-past-the- PR was adopted. although the European constitu- encies would have to be made post, in practice it too easily An-Long -other discrepancies even larger than they already are, becomes an abused tool in the there was no uniformity on in geographical as well as hands of party leaders and party entitlement to vote, voting age, numerical terms, to allow for the managers. We might also say the equality of votes, minimum age PR factor. It would correct the list system can be the quango to ot candidates, financing of par- distortions that in June 1979 gave cap all quangos, and even British ties, nomination of candidates or Conservatives 60 seats in En- advocates of PR should examine on the role of established parties. gland, Scotland and Wales, it with due suspicion. What goes For each member state it was a Labour 17, the Scottish National now for European elections ma.,.t, question of doing what came Party one, and the Liberals none. soon go for domestic elections. •CONFIDENTIAL • • 4-3 Note on the Euro ean Democratic Group's attitude to a Uniform Electoral Procedure for Elections to the Euro ean Parliament At their Group meeting in January the EDG agreed the following: The Group supports the principle of a Uniform Electoral System for European elections in the future, believing this to be a requirement of the Treaty. All UK citizens should have the right to vote in the European elections without regard to the Member State in which they are resident. That Gibraltarians should have the right to participate in the European elections. iv) The Group set up a Working Party to consider which ectoral system the Group should support. di For the past 2 years the Political Affairs Committee of the Parliament have been considering a number of reports on electoral systems by Jean Seitlinger (French Christian Democrat). Pressure has been particularly evident from the Liberal Group to reach agreement within the Parliament as soon as possible - hoping that the Council might accept the Parliament's proposals in time for them to be implemented by 1954. The present draft of the Seitlinger Report recommends the adoption of an Additional Member System similar to that used in the Federal Republic of Germany. At their meeting in Cologne the EDG discussed the Report of their Working Party. Lord Douro outlined the background to the Report and said that it was now generally accepted that it would be impossible to implement a common electoral system for the 1934 European elections. He said that the EDG members of the Political Affairs Committee had consistently lobbied to separate the question the electoral system to be used from more technical questions ticchtes asfor the ex-patriates eligibility residentof candidates, within the franchiseCommunity. andHe particularlysaid that this approach had drawn some support and he thought there would be a possibility of progress in implementing the more technical recommend- ations in time for the 1984 election. Lord Douro mentioned that Lord Belstead, speaking on behalf of the Government had said the Government would not be producing proposals on voting rights for Britons abroad until they had seen the recommendations from the European Parliament.