Parliamentary Parties Panel minutes: 3 September 2024

SM asked attendees to introduce themselves and summarised the purpose of the panel as a space to discuss relevant issues impacting parties with the Commission and MHCLG.  

SM noted two additional meetings of interest to the members – a regular meeting with the party’s data officers and the UK Government, and the National Cyber Security Centre’s meetings with technical party staff. SM said he would ensure the new parties are included in these meetings if they wish to attend.  

VR gave an introduction to his career background and his experience as Chief Executive since March 2024.  

VR acknowledged the senior team at the Commission had changed since the previous meeting. VR introduced Jackie Killeen in her new role as Director Electoral Administration and Regulation, Tom Hawthorn as Director of Policy and Research. VR noted Niki Nixon’s appointment to Director of Communications. The Commission will shortly be appointing a Corporate Director.

VR said the Commission will be attending the Panel members’ party conferences throughout September and early October. The Commission is also in the process of individually meeting with each of the parties represented on the Panel.

VR said the Commission is producing a five-year corporate plan and will update the group on the progress of the plan in due course.

There was a short discussion about the Commission's approach to its regulatory work. MA said a telephone helpline to resolve queries would be helpful. JK offered to share the relevant details for support offered by the Commission with the minutes following the meeting.

SM said engagement with the Panel beyond the scheduled meetings would be helpful. 

It was noted that there had been no update on the final action on guidance for auditors. The Commission agreed to follow up on this after the meeting.

AW noted a typo in the recording of his colleague’s name (Alex Barros-Curtis) in the previous meetings notes.  

The minutes were approved, subject to this change. 

The Commission’s assessment of the general election

VR said overall, the Commission’s initial assessment was that polling day ran smoothly, and people were able to cast their votes securely. However, the Commission was aware of three key areas – voter identification policy; abuse and intimidation of candidates; postal voting – which it would be focusing on as part of its post-poll reporting.

TH said the Commission’s analysis into the implementation of the Voter ID policy will be published on 10 September. Panel members will receive a copy of this report.

TH thanked the group for their contributions to the Commission’s research into the UK parliamentary general election (UKPGE), and confirmed its report into the UKPGE is due to be published in early November.

The UK Government’s assessment of the election

PD said the system largely worked but there are some electoral law issues that need to be resolved, including issues with postal votes. BC said MHCLG had already received representations from the Labour Party on their experience during the election, and is open to taking submissions from the parties on their experiences.

The parties’ experience of the general election

There was an extended discussion of the parties’ experiences during the campaign, on polling day and after the election. The focus was sharing their feedback on candidate abuse and intimidation; relationships and performance standards across electoral administration staff; candidacy requirements; and other general reflections on the administration of elections and conduct during the general election campaign.

There was a short discussion on candidate abuse and intimidation and concerns about the adequacy of the policing response in certain areas. Concerns were raised about the consistency of understanding, preparedness to act, and responses to complainants across different police forces. In addition, it was reported that there was a perceived lack of clarity on the role of the SPOC within some police forces.  

VR said clarity is needed on the threshold for such offences. The Commission produced joint guidance with the police to address this issue, and it would be helpful to get feedback from the parties on how useful this guidance was during the campaign.  

BC said this feedback is reflective of the general response to the support offered by the police. Home Office is working through the policing aspects of the election and what can be improved for next time, including the variation in standards across the country.

There was a short discussion on relationships and performance standards across Electoral Services Managers and Returning Officers. JK acknowledged these points and said she would take them away for further consideration.

KB raised concerns about establishing the competency of candidates standing for election. Further issues were raised with verifying the identity of individuals wishing to stand as candidates. PD noted the case of Niko Omilana. VR said the Commission would be reviewing this issue and the discrepancy between requirement to produce photo identification to vote but not when standing as a candidate.

SM said the trackers produced by the Department to display data collected by the Government, such as on voter registration, were useful.

SM raised the issue of overseas voters. KB noted the establishment of Liberal Democrats Abroad.  

SM also raised a series of issues including – notices of polling stations variation; concerns with spending limits and technical expenditure changes; and the process to remove a party’s details from ballot paper.  

SM suggested AEA and Solace could be invited to attend a PPP meeting in the future.

KB noted particular issues with verification at specific counts and the process taking a long time to resolve. KB said those managing the count seem to have greater interest in the process than the verification.

SM asked if a list of key contacts in the Department and the Commission could be circulated to all members.  

BC said the Government was looking at the following four priority policy areas: Votes at 16; Voter ID (MHCLG have identified the inclusion of veterans identity cards on the list of acceptable IDs as an early priority); improving voter registration, particularly around use of data already held in Government systems); and political finance reform, with an emphasis on foreign interference.  

BC said a focus on Voter ID was the initial priority for secondary legislation and further points will be looked at in due course. The Government will produce an implementation timeline to set out the timeframe for the proposed changes. MHCLG will also be considering potential wider reform of the electoral system. 

TH said the Commission is required to revise the current scheme to reflect recent changes to the political parties represented in the UK Parliament. The Commission will consult with parties on proposed changes before making a recommendation to the Minister, with the aim of a new scheme being in place by March 2025.

There was a short discussion about the potential changes to the scheme. TH said that he would welcome questions, queries or concerns by email.  

VR gave a short update on the Commission’s cyber security, noting the improvements made, which he said had been shown in the attacks faced by the Commission during the general election. KB noted the incident and the Commission's communication of it to the parties had led to a lack of trust. 

JK gave a short update on the new project and the next steps. VR said the planned technical changes should better align the new system to the parties’ own systems. The Commission to provide updates on the project to the group as it progresses.  

None.

The next meeting was agreed for 3 December.