Boris Johnson is trying to 'rig democracy' with a new bill that would weaken the independence of the elections watchdog, critics say

Boris Johnson leaving a polling station — UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

MPs will soon debate the Elections Bill, which would let ministers set policy for the Electoral Commission.
A former MI5 chief called it "an extremely dangerous thing to do," like "giving a toddler a gun."
Labour says Boris Johnson's government is trying to "rig democracy" with it.
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The proposal by Boris Johnson's Conservative Party to let government ministers set priorities for the Electoral Commission, the UK elections watchdog, is an attempt to "rig democracy," the opposition Labour Party has said.

The criticism comes as Johnson's government is seeking to pass its Elections Bill, which critics say would weaken the regulator's independence. Here's how it would work:

The bill would allow the government to issue a strategy and policy statement to the Electoral Commission.
The commission's adherence to this statement would then be judged by the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission (SCEC), a statutory body consisting of MPs.
The bill, if passed, would then reinforce the Conservative majority on the committee and allow another government minister to join it.

Unlike select committees, which scrutinise the work of departments, SCEC includes ministers and, for the first time since its creation in 2000, has a majority of its nine members from the Conservative Party.

SCEC currently has five Conservative MPs, including two ministers: Michael Gove, the top Cabinet Office minister, and Luke Hall, a minister in the housing ministry.

A third member, William Wragg, is there by virtue of being chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC), which covers the work of the Cabinet Office.

The other two, Karl McCartney and Craig Mackinlay, have both been openly critical of the Electoral Commission. McCartney and Mackinlay were both investigated for election expenses infractions following the 2015 general election.

Following his exoneration in 2017, McCartney called for "heads to roll" at the Commission, The Lincolnite reported. If senior figures at the Commission did not resign, he would take "every opportunity after the General Election to persuade the newly-elected Government to abolish this incompetent organisation," he said.

Mackinlay wrote on PoliticsHome after his 2019 acquittal that the Electoral Commission was "unfit for purpose".

The bill contains provisions that could allow a third minister to attend the committee.

'An extremely dangerous thing to do'

The Labour Party says the Elections Bill was the government's attempt to "stac[k] the deck" in its favour, while a former head of MI5 warned that the changes would be akin to "giving a toddler a gun."

Cat Smith MP, Labour's Shadow Minister for Democracy, told Insider: "The Conservatives' Elections Bill threatens to end the independence of the Electoral Commission.

"For the first time, the Speaker's Committee has an in-built government majority which will only be strengthened by adding a Government Minister to the membership. The direction of the independent watchdog is set to be hijacked by the Conservatives.

"This is yet another example of the Conservatives stacking the deck in their favour to rig democracy."

Lord Evans, chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life and a former head of MI5, told PACAC on Tuesday that there were "serious misgivings" about the government's setting strategy and policy for the Commission.

"Some of the proposals in this legislation would increase the one-party majority on the Speaker's Committee. This is a bit like giving a toddler a gun," the Crossbench peer said.

"It may not immediately lead to disaster, but it's an extremely dangerous thing to do. We do not think the current proposals go far enough in protecting the independence of the Electoral Commission."

Alistair Carmichael MP, political and constitutional spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, told Insider: "Parliamentary scrutiny means little if the government is just going to pack the committees with its cronies. Still less so when they bypass traditional oversight by the Speaker's Committee.

"Electoral reform is an issue that should always be tackled on a cross-party basis, to prevent even the hint of suspicion that one party is rigging the system in its favour. That the Conservatives do not recognise this principle and are instead attempting to bring all independent scrutiny under their thumb should be a cause for alarm.

"Perhaps they do not realise that these rules will hurt them just as much when they are in opposition in the future - or perhaps they are arrogant enough to believe that they will never lose the power to which they feel so entitled."

Insider previously reported how the Elections Bill would allow tax exiles to continue funding British political parties for longer, and could open up marginal constituencies to abuse by overseas voters.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson told Insider: "The changes will not give the Government new powers to direct the Electoral Commission's decision-making. It is common for the Government to set a framework which independent regulators work to."

Lord Evans said on Tuesday that comparisons between the Electoral Commission and other regulators were a "completely false analogy."

"This is not a regulator that is there for implementing government policy. This is an Electoral Commission that needs to be independent of government," he told PACAC.

"This is not a party-political point, this is a point to do with the overall integrity of our electoral system. We are therefore extremely concerned about this proposal."

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