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The Electoral Commission has said the UK Government’s Representation of the People Bill (Opens in new window) would significantly improve the electoral system for voters, parties, campaigners and administrators.

Responding to the bill, published today, the Commission highlights changes to voter registration and political finance rules that will deliver benefits. Lowering the voting age will give around 1.7 million additional people the right to vote. 

Commenting on the bill, Vijay Rangarajan, Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission, said:

“These reforms should strengthen the resilience and integrity of our electoral system, tackle many of the threats it faces and improve how elections work for voters, campaigners, parties and administrators. 

“With nearly 8 million people not correctly registered, reforms to improve voter registration could bring millions more onto the register and make participation in elections more inclusive. 

“Measures to increase transparency in political finance - in particular stronger controls on unincorporated associations and the introduction of know-your-donor checks – could help close long-standing loopholes and build public confidence in the system.”

While the Commission welcomes many of the changes set out in the bill, some provisions need to be strengthened to improve the experience for voters further and better protect the system from foreign interference.

Commenting on where the bill could be improved, Vijay Rangarajan added: 

“We are concerned that using revenue to determine companies’ eligibility to donate to political parties is an inadequate safeguard against foreign money. Using profit would more clearly reflect genuine UK-based activity. The current clauses appear to allow a company to donate its entire revenue many times over each year. 

“While full automatic voter registration may take longer to deliver, significant progress on automated registration should be made before the next general election to encourage greater participation and support newly enfranchised 16 and 17 year olds. We believe there is time to do so before the next general election, as successful automatic registration pilots in Wales have shown. 

“Any changes to the electoral system must ultimately deliver improvements for voters. As the bill progresses, the Commission will be clear about the scale and complexity of the changes and whether they can be delivered effectively without compromising security or accessibility. For example, we think the proposal to use bank cards for voter ID weakens security, and that there are better ways to improve accessibility.”

Public confidence in elections depends on the system being fair, transparent and independent. For that reason, the Commission remains opposed to the Strategy and Policy Statement and will continue to make the case for non-partisan accountability directly to Parliament.

The Commission will provide independent, expert advice to parliamentarians on the bill's contents as it progresses through Parliament, and work with the Government on implementation.

We have also published a more detailed briefing on each of the measures to support Parliament’s consideration of the bill.

For more information, contact the Electoral Commission press office on 020 7271 0704, out of office hours 07789 920 414 or press@electoralcommission.org.uk (Opens in new window)