Three years ago, the Law Commission published an important report proposing the consolidation of electoral law across the UK.

This is yet to be taken forward by the government.

It was therefore good news that the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee recently launched an inquiry asking how urgent these reforms were, whether they government had the right priorities and whether other proposals should be introduced.

My evidence is here.

The summary:

• The consolidation of electoral law should be an urgent priority for Parliament and is becoming more urgent as a result of continued devolution and the diversification in electoral practices across the UK.
• The government’s plans to modernise the annual canvass is much needed, but the introduction of voter identification is not an urgent reform and might have negative effects on the electoral process.
• There are other reforms that are more urgent such as the provision of a ‘am I registered?’ website, automatic registration for under-registered groups and greater financial support for local authorities running elections.

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