Electoral Registration

EDM number 2182 in 1992-93, proposed by Harry Barnes on 18/06/1993.

That this House is aware that a recent Office of Population Censuses and Surveys' report shows that 7.1 per cent. of the eligible electorate were missing from electoral registers in Great Britain in 1991; notes that non-registration was especially high amongst males, those who had recently moved house, new Commonwealth citizens, those of non-white ethnic origin and those who live in private rented accommodation; further notes that non-registration was as high as 204 per cent. in inner London, the home of the United Kingdom Parliament; believes that current electoral registration arrangements and facilities are a democratic disgrace which seriously distorts election results, leads to the considerable maldistribution of electoral boundaries and makes a nonsense of public opinion polls; and further believes that action must urgently be pursued to introduce a greatly improved system of electoral registration in line with the principles contained in the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, which was debated in this House on 12th February.

This motion has been signed by a total of 68 MPs, 2 of these signatures have been withdrawn.