The Holders of Hereditary Peerages (Extension of the Franchise) (Transitional Provisions) Order 1999

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order makes transitional provision to enable the holders of hereditary peerages to whom section 3(1) of the House of Lords Act 1999 applies to vote at parliamentary elections. Section 3(1) does not apply to a peer to whom section 2 of that Act applies (section 3(2)).

Under section 1(3) of the Representation of the People Act 1983, entitlement to vote depends on registration in a register of electors. Inclusion in the register depends upon circumstances on the qualifying date for the register.

Article 2(2) of this Order enables those relevant peers (as defined in article 2(1)) who will be registered in a register of local government electors due to come into effect on 16th February 2000 (as to which, see section 13(1) of the 1983 Act) to be treated as registered as parliamentary electors. The effect of article 2(3) is that those relevant peers who are not so registered may apply to be added to those registers of parliamentary electors (under section 11(2) of the 1983 Act, as substituted by Schedule 4 to the Representation of the People Act 1985), notwithstanding that they held a hereditary peerage on the relevant qualifying date. Article 4 has a similar effect in respect of a peer to whom section 3(1) of the 1999 Act applies and who is not resident in the United Kingdom for the purposes of his registration as an overseas elector.

Article 3 enables a peer to whom section 3(1) of the 1999 Act applies who is not resident in the United Kingdom to rely on his registration as a local government elector if applying to be registered as an overseas elector at parliamentary elections. It also makes an adaptation to enable such peers who were by reason of age not eligible for inclusion in a register of local government electors to register as parliamentary electors. Registration as a parliamentary elector also entitles an overseas elector to vote at European Parliamentary elections (see section 3C(2)(b) of the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1978 (c. 10), as substituted by the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999 (c. 1)).