Group 3: Last possible election day (Amendments 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:57 pm on 10 February 2021.

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Photo of Julie James Julie James Labour 4:57, 10 February 2021

I commend the Member's tenacity in respect of reducing flexibility for the postponement of elections this year. In principle, as a Government, we agree that holding the election during the summer months is preferable to waiting for the autumn. But as I indicated at Stage 2, I believe that 5 November strikes the right balance between flexibility and certainty about when in 2021 postponed elections could be held. So, I cannot support the amendments in this group, which reduce the maximum period of postponement for an election within the scope of this Bill from 6 months to less than 4 months. Let us not forget that at the start of the pandemic the UK Government postponed elections for an entire year. Although the amendments avoid the difficulties with schools I highlighted yesterday, they do not overcome the timing issues around the summer holidays. I therefore urge Members to vote against the amendments in this group. Diolch.