Electoral Commission And Registration

EDM number 721 in 2014-15, proposed by Chris Ruane on 21/01/2015.
Categorised under the topics of Elections and Electoral register.

That this House recognises that there were 7.5 million electors missing from the electoral register in 2010 and that no improvement has been made in registering these missing millions of voters over the past five years; notes this figure has now increased by the loss of one million young voters; further recognises that in the 2010 General Election the Electoral Commission set itself a very low target to register just 1.8 per cent of unregistered voters, totalling 142,000 people; further notes that the Electoral Commission 2014-19 Corporate Plan, page 16, continues with a lack of ambition as it is prepared to accept similar low levels of non-registraton of 7.5 million over the next five years; further notes that the Electoral Commission has failed to take effective action against electoral registration officers who repeatedly fail to implement their statutory duties; and further notes that the cumulative effect of this inaction and low ambition will have a negative effect on voter turnout and engagement in the General Election and leave off millions of voters when the new parliamentary boundaries are redrawn in December 2015.

This motion has been signed by a total of 77 MPs.