Territorial Extent and Application
92 Clause 63 sets out the territorial extent of the Bill, that is the jurisdictions which the Bill forms part of the law of.
93 The provisions of Part 1 largely have UK extent, except:
a. some of the amendments to the RPA 1983 made by clause 1 and Schedule 1 regarding voter identification extend to England and Wales and Scotland only, and some extend to Northern Ireland only. Additionally, paragraphs 34, 36 and 38 of that Schedule extend existing provisions which currently extend to Northern Ireland only so that they extend to the whole of the UK;
b. provisions about the limit on the period for which a postal vote can be held (in clause 3 and Schedule 3) do not extend to Northern Ireland;
c. provisions about limits on proxy voting (in clause 6 and Schedule 4) have separate transitional arrangements which extend to England and Wales and Scotland or to Northern Ireland only respectively;
d. further transitional arrangements about proxy voting in respect of local elections in Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Assembly elections extend to Northern Ireland only.
94 Amendments, repeals and revocations made by the rest of the Bill generally have the same extent as the provision amended, repealed or revoked, except for amendments made to the RPA 1983 by paragraph 1 of Schedule 8 relating to voting and candidacy rights of EU citizens. Additionally, clause 63(5) applies section 384(1) and (2) of the Armed Forces Act 2006 to the amendments made to that Act by paragraph 10 of Schedule 10. Section 384(1) allows the provisions of the Armed Forces Act 2006 to be extended to any of the Channel Islands. Section 384(2) extends the provisions of the Armed Forces Act 2006 to the Isle of Man and the British overseas territories other than Gibraltar.
95 Generally, the provisions of the Bill apply to the same areas of the UK as the areas to which they extend. The provisions of Part 1 apply for the purposes of UK Parliamentary elections in those areas. The postal and proxy voting and accessibility provisions in Part 1 also apply for the purposes of local government elections in England. Clause 8 (on undue influence) also applies to local government elections across the UK. The provisions in clause 10 and Schedule 6 apply for the purposes of local elections and Assembly elections in Northern Ireland. The provision at clause 11 on the simple majority system for certain offices applies in England and Wales for Police and Crime Commissioners, and in England only for the Mayor of London, combined authority mayors and local authority mayors.
96 Schedule 2, which amends Schedule 2 to the Representation of the People Act 1983, contains provisions about applications relating to electoral registration, applications to vote by post or proxy, and applications for particular kinds of documents such as electoral identity documents (contained in Schedule 2). These provisions generally apply in relation to UK Parliamentary elections, local government elections in England and elections in Northern Ireland only.
97 In Part 2, the overseas elector provisions apply for the purposes of UK Parliamentary elections. The provisions on voting and candidacy rights of EU citizens apply for the purposes of local government and other local elections in England, police and crime commissioner elections in England and Wales, ward elections for common councillors in the City of London, and local elections and Assembly elections in Northern Ireland.
98 There is a convention that Westminster will not normally legislate with regard to matters that are within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament, Senedd Cymru or the Northern Ireland Assembly without the consent of the legislature concerned.
99 The following provisions relate to matters within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament:
a. Undue influence (clause 8 and Schedule 5) insofar as it relates to the conduct of local government elections in Scotland, and incapacities relating to being elected to or holding local government elective offices in Scotland.
b. The introduction of a Strategy and Policy Statement (clause 14) that the Electoral Commission will be required to have regard to in the discharge of the Commission’s devolved Scottish functions.
c. Notional expenditure (clauses 18-20) in relation to the application of the rules on campaign expenditure at devolved elections.
d. Political finance (clauses 21-27) in relation to the registration/notification of third parties for elections devolved to the Scottish Parliament and in relation to campaign expenditure for both political parties and third party campaigners for standalone devolved elections.
e. The new intimidation disqualification order (clauses 28 - 36 and Schedule 10) insofar as it relates to the qualifications for nomination as a candidate for election to, or holding the office of a member of, the Scottish Parliament or a local government elective office in Scotland.
100 The following provisions relate to matters within the legislative competence of Senedd Cymru:
a. Undue influence (clause 8 and Schedule 5) insofar as it relates to the conduct of local government elections in Wales, and incapacities relating to being elected to or holding the office of a member of Senedd Cymru or local government elective offices in Wales.
b. The introduction of a Strategy and Policy Statement (clause 14) that the Electoral Commission will be required to have regard to in the discharge of the Commission’s devolved Welsh functions.
c. Notional expenditure (clauses 18-20) in relation to the application of the rules on campaign expenditure at devolved elections.
d. Political finance (clauses 21-27) in relation to the registration/notification of third parties for elections devolved to the Scottish Parliament and in relation to campaign expenditure for both political parties and third-party campaigners for standalone devolved elections.
101 Chloe Smith MP, as the then-Minister for the Constitution and Devolution, wrote to the Scottish and Welsh Governments seeking legislative consent from the Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru in relation to these provisions. Subsequently, both the Scottish and Welsh Governments requested to be removed from all aspects which relate to devolved matters. We are currently in the process of evaluating the implications of carving out Scotland and Wales from the devolved measures in the Bill.
102 See the table at Annex A for a summary of the position regarding territorial extent and application in the UK.