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Matthew Offord

Member of Parliament for Hendon Constituency
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Electoral Commission - July 2021

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The Electoral Commission has sought in recent years to bring criminal offences before the courts. This is not a role that has ever been agreed by the Government or by Parliament.

The additional powers the Electoral Commission has taken on risk creating conflicts of interest and wasting taxpayers' money. This is because the Electoral Commission is responsible for providing the advice and guidance on electoral law on which the prosecutions it seeks to bring may depend.

It is the role of the police and the prosecution services to enforce electoral regulations and the Government intends to clarify this status quo in legislation through the Elections Bill before Parliament. I can assure you that this is not about interfering with the investigative, operational or enforcement decisions of the Electoral Commission. The reforms would not affect the ability of the Electoral Commission to undertake enforcement action as it deems necessary but it would ensure greater accountability to Parliament.

Sir, now Lord, Eric Pickles’ independent review into electoral fraud raised a number of concerns and made recommendations on the role of the Electoral Commission and the current system of oversight in 2016. These measures also seek to address those points in the context of wider work to protect our democracy and maintain public confidence in the electoral system.

Ministers will, of course, consider proposals from the Committee on Standards in Public Life and from the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee which are separately conducting inquiries into electoral regulation and the Electoral Commission.

National Issues

  • Universal Credit (£20 uplift) - September 2021
  • Electoral Commission - July 2021
  • Joint replacement surgery backlog - July 2021
  • Intellectual Property changes - June 2021
  • Ethiopia - June 2021
  • Legacy Benefits - June 2021
  • Caged gamebirds - May 2021
  • Violence in Israel and OPTs
  • Climate Change
  • Supporting Cinema - March 2021
  • Visas for touring creatives in the EU - January 2021
  • NHS Pay - November 2020
  • Fire Safety Bill - September 2020
  • Animal Welfare - September 2020
  • Pesticide Standards - September 2020
  • Support for Asylum Seekers - September 2020
  • Cladding and EWS1 form - August 2020
  • Transport for under-18s - August 2020
  • Sustainable Fishing - August 2020
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
  • Human Rights in Bahrain - July 2020
  • Immigration detention - July 2020
  • Merging the FCO and DFID
  • NHS Pay Increase - June 2020
  • Food Standards - June 2020
  • UK-US Free Trade Agreement - June 2020
  • Race horse welfare - March 2020
  • Windrush 'Lessons Learned' report - February 2020
  • Ocean Conservation - February 2020
  • Dementia care - January 2020
  • Horse tethering - January 2020
  • Abortion in Northern Ireland - (Updated) July 2019
  • Fit for Work Notes - April 2019
  • NHS - (Updated) March 2019
  • Immigration Bill - March 2019
  • Religious Persecution of Christians - February 2019
  • Brexit
  • Archive (2016-2018)

Matthew Offord Member of Parliament for Hendon Constituency

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