SOUTH BASILDON and East Thurrock MP Stephen Metcalfe rose on the floor of the House of Commons to ask the deputy leader about the campaign to get more people to vote.
Mr Metcalfe said: “As I am sure my right hon. Friend knows, last Wednesday was Bite the Ballot national voter registration day, designed to engage with the 4 million young people who are missing from our register. What actions will he take to engage those people and get them registered, such as perhaps emulating the schools initiative in Northern Ireland?
Nicholas Clegg (The Deputy Prime Minister ; Sheffield, Hallam, Liberal Democrat) replied:
“As was said earlier, we announced last week that five national organisations and every local authority in Great Britain will be sharing £4.2 million-worth of new resources to maximise registration. As my hon. Friend mentioned schools, it is worth remembering that next September a new citizenship programme will be taught that stipulates that pupils in schools should learn about parliamentary democracy and citizenship more widely.
“That is another opportunity to raise the profile of the importance of getting young people registered on the electoral roll”.
