Banning Lords from Holyrood and strengthening Scotland’s democracy
Ross Greer MSP explains his amendments to the Scottish Government's Elections Bill
This week I’m tabling proposals to ban peers from sitting in the Scottish Parliament - and a range of other measures to strengthen our democracy.
On Thursday morning a committee of MSPs will consider amendments to the Elections Bill brought by the Scottish Government. The bill makes some important but largely technical changes to the law around elections, but in its current draft it is a huge missed opportunity. That’s why I have tabled amendments to do the following:
Abolish cash deposits: Charging people £500 to stand in an election is fundamentally antidemocratic and a huge barrier to those on lower incomes and to smaller parties. Getting rid of this system is a longstanding recommendation of the Electoral Commission. My amendment would replace cash deposits for Scottish Parliament elections with a requirement to collect a reasonable number of signatures from voters registered in the constituency or region.
Ban peers from Holyrood: Members of the House of Lords are already banned from the Commons and from voting in General Elections. The Lords is an undemocratic embarrassment to the UK and any member wishing to serve as an MSP should resign their peerage first.
Encourage automatic voter registration at schools, colleges and universities: The bill gives Scottish Ministers the power to fund pilot projects to boost participation in elections. I am suggesting that automatic voter registration in education institutions would be an ideal place to start, given the strong evidence that automatic registration leads to higher turnout.
Replace by-elections: Scotland uses proportional representation for council elections, but when a vacancy occurs we hold a by-election to replace that one seat. These by-elections routinely distort the proportionality delivered by the initial election, with some wards ending up represented entirely by councillors from one party, despite large numbers of voters choosing other candidates. Other countries which use the same system, such as the Republic of Ireland, do not hold by-elections for vacancies and instead allow for the appointment of another councillor from the party who the vacating councillor was elected for. This maintains proportionality and ensures that voters don’t lose the representation they chose.
Randomise ballot papers: There is no disputing that alphabetical ballot papers give an advantage to candidates whose surname puts them at the top. This would require the order of candidates/parties on Scottish Parliament and council ballot papers to be randomised.
Protecting election agents: Candidates no longer have to publish their home address, making it safer to stand for election. My amendment would extend that specific provision to their election agents.
Allowing candidates to state their ward: If a council candidate doesn’t want to state their home address, they can only state the council area they live in. Many candidates want to make clear their connection to the ward they are standing in without listing their address though. This is particularly important in rural and island communities. My amendment would allow council candidates to choose to state the ward they live in on the ballot paper, if they wish.
Aggravator: The bill includes provisions to disqualify individuals who have committed an offence against those involved in elections (candidates, agents, polling station staff, etc) from being eligible to stand themselves. Offences committed against those involved in elections have a wider chilling effect on democratic engagement however, so I have proposed that an aggravator be created, allowing for this to be taken into account when an individual is being sentenced.