Downing Street Says

Asked if the Government would delay the referendum rather than see the Bill being split, the PMS replied that he would not get into speculation about that.

Asked if the Government was still looking to get the Bill through intact and on time, the PMS said that that was still our intention. The PMS said the reason the Government had wanted the referendum on the 5th May was because the public would only have to go to the polling stations once and it would be much cheaper.

Put that the constituency part of the Bill could be split from the rest of the Bill, the PMS said that the Government’s programme was very clear and we would not be splitting the Bill.

Asked about the reasoning behind not splitting the Bill, the PMS said that it was the Government’s programme. It was right that the House of Lords should discuss Government policy, but it had taken more time over the Bill in Committee than the Commons had on the Bill overall.

When asked if the Government was prepared to enter into discussions or compromise on any of the minor points being discussed in the Lords, the PMS replied that we had a package we intended to implement.

Asked if the Government had a view on whether the Coalition Agreement had a similar or equal status to a party manifesto, the PMS said that that was a question for constitutional experts. The PMS added that the Salisbury Convention which gave guidance on not standing in the way of a manifesto was still only a convention.

Put that Lord Prescott had suggested that there was no democratic mandate to what the Government was proposing, the PMS said that the House of Lords had the right to review and comment on legislation. The PMS added that part of the Bill was intended to provide for a referendum that would allow the people to decide on voting reform and that a referendum was a democratic step.

On whether the Cabinet could bring in a guillotine’ to force the Bill through, the PMS said that he was not an expert on the use of guillotines in the House of Lords, but he was not sure that it was a straightforward option in this case.

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» Tuesday, January 18, 2011

AV Bill

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