Ministers must repeal powers imposed by the Conservatives that allowed them to control the electoral watchdog, after warning they could be abused by a future government with authoritarian ambitions.
Steve Reed, who as communities secretary is overseeing a new electoral bill, announced the move to MPs, saying it would “completely repeal the government’s power to impose a strategy and policy statement on the Electoral Commission”.
The powers, set out in the Conservative Electoral Act 2022, were criticized for giving ministers the opportunity to politically interfere in the work and enforcement priorities of the commission, which is supposed to be independent.
A number of groups and MPs had urged Keir Starmer’s government to reverse this in its People’s Representation Bill, saying the powers could be exploited by a future government.
A report last year by the campaign group Spotlight on Corruption warned that powers over the Electoral Commission “could easily be abused to undermine our democracy”.
Reed’s announcement comes after days of criticism from Reform UK over the conduct of the election, after Nigel Farage’s party failed to win the Gorton and Denton by-elections, falling more than 4,000 votes behind the Greens.
Farage has claimed his party was “misled”, citing what he said was the incidence of people deciding votes on behalf of family members, and what he called widespread corruption in postal voting, which he wants to greatly restrict.
Speaking in the Commons debate on Monday night, Danny Kruger, a Reform MP, claimed that large numbers of British Asian voters were “receiving orders about how to vote from mosques and clans, often directly from Pakistan”.
The Election Commission has a different opinion. Its report on the 2024 general election concluded that confidence in the voting system was high and that the main problem with postal voting was people not receiving their ballots on time.
Arron Banks, a Reform mayoral candidate and a leading party supporter, has said he would like to see the Electoral Commission abolished if Farage wins power.
In November, a cross-party group of MPs and peers called on the government to fully restore the commission’s independence, saying failure to do so would leave the UK falling behind global standards when it comes to electoral integrity.
Some of the MPs who joined the call praised Reed’s announcement in the House of Commons on Monday night. Lisa Smart, spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats’ Cabinet Office, said she welcomed the move and called for measures to “further strengthen the Electoral Commission in the face of historic threats to our democracy”. Green MP Ellie Chowns made a similar point.
Labor MP Valerie Vaz said she was “delighted”, adding: “A government of any kind should not interfere with the Electoral Commission. It should not take instructions from a government.”
Tom Brake, executive director of the Unlock Democracy campaign, said: “This power risked opening the door to political influence over the elections regulator. Removing it is a decisive step towards rebuilding public trust.”
The representation of the people bill includes a number of other changes, including votes for 16- and 17-year-olds, and measures to test automatic voter registration.
It will also ease some of the rules introduced by the Conservatives on the types of ID voters must show before voting. Speaking on Monday, Reed said this could now also involve types of digital identification.
