In January this year, the House of Commons approved the Strategy and Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission. I can confirm that I opposed the issuing of such a statement, and I regret that it was adopted due to the votes of Government MPs.

In my view, the Statement is incredibly problematic because it raises the appearance of politicians in Government seeking to influence the work of the Electoral Commission.

I think it is wrong for the governing party to be setting the Commission’s priorities, as this could risk compromising the Commission’s independence. At the very least, it could give rise to the appearance of such a state of affairs.

The Electoral Commission must remain a strong, effective and independent regulator so that it can fulfil its important responsibilities of overseeing our elections and regulating political finance in the UK.

It is my view that adequate provisions were already in place to ensure the Commission was sufficiently accountable to Parliament, via the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, a cross-party body on which both frontbenchers and backbenchers from the Government, the Opposition and minority parties serve.

In addition, I note that the Elections Commission has also expressed concerns about the Government’s proposals, as have some Government backbench MPs. Please be assured that I will closely follow any further developments with this matter.