That this House deeply regrets that various officers and staff of the Conservative Party refused to attend interviews with the Electoral Commission when requested; believes the investigation into Bearwood Corporate Services Ltd suffered as a result; and further believes the Electoral Commission requires additional powers to compel the attendance of people at interviews held in connection with its investigations into possible breaches of electoral law.

That this House deeply regrets that various officers and staff of the Conservative Party refused to attend interviews with the Electoral Commission when requested; believes the investigation into Bearwood Corporate Services Ltd suffered as a result; and further believes the Electoral Commission requires additional powers to compel the attendance of...

That this House notes with concern that, according to the Register of Electors, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Pendle, Afzal Anwar, a barrister, shares the property at 214-216 Manchester Road, Nelson, with another 26 voters; believes the property was originally two terraced houses but was knocked into one; notes the explanation from the Party's election agent, Tony Greaves, that the property is home to the candidate, his father, three brothers, their families and contains 24 bedrooms; further notes that Pendle Council's Executive Director (Citizen and Community Services), Philip Mousdale, stated on 10th April that he had recently been informed that the property was in fact not one but three separate properties and that the Electoral Register would be amended accordingly; further believes that, in the light of these revelations and concerns in 2005 over registrations at the address of the former Liberal Democrat candidate for Parliament, Shazad Anwar, individual voter registration should be brought in without delay as a matter of the greatest urgency to safeguard the integrity of elections; and, in the meantime, calls upon Pendle Council to say who informed Philip Mousdale that the property had been converted and whether this has been independently verified and when planning permission for the conversion of the property at Manchester Road into three separate and self contained units was applied for and granted; and further calls on Pendle Council to disclose which council tax band the three converted properties now fall into and the band or bands that applied before the conversion.

That this House notes with concern that, according to the Register of Electors, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Pendle, Afzal Anwar, a barrister, shares the property at 214-216 Manchester Road, Nelson, with another 26 voters; believes the property was originally two terraced houses but was knocked into one; notes...

That this House notes the concerns of the Monitoring Committee on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe that serious shortcomings remain in the system of postal voting used in the United Kingdom and that it is `childishly simple' to register bogus voters; and believes the Government should heed the earlier warnings of the Electoral Commission on the scope for abuses of household registration and bring in individual voter registration as a matter of urgency.

That this House notes the concerns of the Monitoring Committee on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe that serious shortcomings remain in the system of postal voting used in the United Kingdom and that it is `childishly simple' to register bogus voters; and believes the Government should heed...

That this House requests the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party to invite the BBC and other broadcasters to televise the parliamentary Labour Party and other leadership hustings in order to inform the wider public of the qualities, presentational skills, intellectual rigour and policy priorities of the next Prime Minister.

That this House requests the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party to invite the BBC and other broadcasters to televise the parliamentary Labour Party and other leadership hustings in order to inform the wider public of the qualities, presentational skills, intellectual rigour and policy priorities of the next Prime...

That this House notes with interest the interview on the Today programme on 6th July when John Humphreys suggested to the Deputy Prime Minister that if he resigned as deputy leader of the party, `there would have to be an election, wouldn't there?'; recalls the response of the Deputy Prime Minister, who stated that if he resigned now there did not have to be an election and that Mr Humphreys was quite wrong; believes there is clearly confusion about the provisions of the Labour Party Rule Book and draws attention to section 4B.2e(iii) (Procedure in a vacancy), which states that when Labour is in Government and the deputy leader, for whatever reason, becomes permanently unavailable, the Cabinet may, in consultation with the National Executive Committee (NEC), appoint one of its members to serve as deputy leader until the next party conference (and that) the Cabinet may, alternatively, in consultation with the NEC, leave the post vacant until the next party conference; and believes that the BBC and the media generally should become thoroughly familiar with the rules to enable them to report with clarity, objectivity and accuracy on developments involving the tenure of the Leader or Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.

That this House notes with interest the interview on the Today programme on 6th July when John Humphreys suggested to the Deputy Prime Minister that if he resigned as deputy leader of the party, `there would have to be an election, wouldn't there?'; recalls the response of the Deputy Prime...