Overview

This bill mandates the Secretary of State to introduce a new bill within a year, creating a process for holding referendums on changing local government election voting systems in England to proportional representation. Referendums would only be triggered if a petition signed by at least 10% of electors in a local area, plus a resolution from the local council, requests one.

Description

The Local Government Elections (Referendum) Bill requires the Secretary of State to draft legislation enabling referendums on adopting proportional representation (PR) for local government elections in England.

Triggering a Referendum

A referendum in a specific local government area (unitary authority, county, district, or borough council) will only occur if two conditions are met:

• A petition signed by at least 10% of registered electors in that area requests a referendum.
• The relevant local government body passes a resolution supporting the referendum.

Referendums, if held, will take place concurrently with local government elections.

Geographic Scope and Implementation

The bill applies solely to England and will come into effect immediately upon passing. The Secretary of State's new bill will contain the detailed provisions for conducting the referendums themselves and implementing PR if a particular area votes in favour of it.

Government Spending

The bill itself doesn't directly specify government spending. However, the cost of creating and administering the new bill for referendums, and potentially the costs of holding and counting the votes in any resulting referendums, would represent an added expense to the UK government budget. No specific figures are given in this legislation.

Groups Affected

The bill could affect several groups:

• Local Councils: They will need to decide on supporting any potential petitions and manage the process within their areas.
• Electors: They are central to the process, as they must sign petitions to trigger referendums and subsequently vote in any referendums held.
• Political Parties: The outcome of any referendums could significantly impact the electoral landscape at a local level, affecting the success of different political parties.
• Government: The government bears the responsibility of enacting the legislation required to facilitate referendums and will bear the financial implications.

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