Representation of the People Act 1983

Part VU.K. General and Supplemental

SupplementalU.K.

F1199. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .U.K.

[F2199AFunctions of the Lord ChancellorU.K.

F3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]

200 Public notices, and declarations.U.K.

[F6(1)A public notice required by or under this Act to be given by a returning officer for a parliamentary election shall be given by posting the notice in some conspicuous place or places in the constituency and may also be given in such other manner as he thinks desirable for publicising it.

(1A)A public notice required by or under this Act to be given by the proper officer of a local authority at a local government election shall be given by posting the notice in some conspicuous place or places in the local government area and may also be given in such other manner as he thinks desirable for publicising it.]

(2)Any person before whom a declaration is authorised to be made under this Act may take the declaration.

[F7200A Remuneration for free postal services provided under Act.U.K.

(1)This section applies where any postal services are provided without charge by a universal service provider in pursuance of this Act.

(2)The universal service provider shall be entitled to be remunerated for having provided the services at the rate fixed in relation to them by virtue of a scheme under section 89 of the Postal Services Act 2000.

(3)A sum which a universal service provider is entitled to receive by virtue of this section shall be charged on, and issued out of, the Consolidated Fund.

(4)In this section “postal services” and “universal service provider” have the same meanings as in the Postal Services Act 2000.]

201 Regulations.U.K.

(1)Any power conferred by this Act to make regulations shall, except where this Act otherwise provides, be a power exercisable by the Secretary of State [F8and except in the case of regulations under section 29(8)]by statutory instrument.

[F9(2)No regulations shall be made under this Act by the Secretary of State otherwise than under [F10[F11section 110(7)] above or] section 203(4) below unless a draft of the regulations has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.]

[F12(2A)Any regulations under section 110(7) above shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.]

[F13(3)Any regulations under this Act may make different provision for different cases, circumstances or areas and may contain such incidental, supplemental, saving or transitional provisions as the Secretary of State [F14, or the Electoral Commission (in the case of any regulations made by them),] thinks fit.]

InterpretationU.K.

202 General provisions as to interpretation.U.K.

(1)In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

• [F15“the absent voters list” means, in relation to any election, the list kept under [F16paragraph 5 of Schedule 4 to the Representation of the People Act 2000 or, as respects Northern Ireland, under]section 7 of the Representation of the People Act 1985 for that election]

• F17. . .

• [F18“citizen of the Union” shall be construed in accordance with Article 8.1 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (as amended by Title II of the Treaty on European Union), and “relevant citizen of the Union” means such a citizen who is not a Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland;

• “the City” means the City of London;

• “Clerk of the Crown” means Clerk of the Crown in Chancery;

• “Common Council” means the Common Council of the City;

• [F19“dwelling” includes any part of a building where that part is occupied separately as a dwelling;]

• “election” means a parliamentary election [F20, an Authority election] or an election under the local government Act;

• “election court” means—

  (a)

  In relation to a parliamentary election petition, the judges presiding at the trial;

  (b)

  in relation to a petition questioning [F21an Authority election or]an election under the local government Act, the court constituted under this Act for the trial of that petition;

• “election petition” means a petition presented in pursuance of Part III of this Act;

• “elector” in relation to an election, means any person whose name is for the time being on the register to be used at that election, but does not include those shown in the register as below voting age on the day fixed for the poll;

• “legal incapacity” includes (in addition to any incapacity by virtue of any subsisting provision of the common law) any disqualification imposed by this Act or any other Act;

• [F22“legal process” means a claim form, application notice, writ, summons or other process;]

• [F23“the list of proxies” has, in relation to any election, the meaning given by [F24paragraph 5(3) of Schedule 4 to the Representation of the People Act 2000 or, as respects Northern Ireland, by]section 7 of the Representation of the People Act 1985]

• [F25“overseas elector’s declaration” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Representation of the People Act 1985]

• “parliamentary election petition” means an election petition questioning a parliamentary election or return;

• “parliamentary elections rules” means the parliamentary elections rules in Schedule 1 to this Act;

• “person” includes (without prejudice to the provisions of the M1Interpretation Act 1978) an association corporate or unincorporate;

• “prescribed” except in Part III of this Act means prescribed by regulations;

• [F26“proper officer”—

  (a)

  in relation to the Greater London Authority, has the same meaning as in the 1999 Act (see section 424(2) of that Act);

  (b)

  except as provided by paragraph (a) above, in England and Wales means a proper officer within the meaning of section 270(3) and (4) of the M2Local Government Act 1972;]

• [F27“qualifying address” shall be construed in accordance with section 9(8) above;]

• [F28““registered political party” means [F29a party registered under Part II of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000;]]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F30

• “service voter” means a person who has made a service declaration and is registered or entitled to be registered in pursuance of it;

• F31. . .

• F31. . .

• “sub-agent” has the meaning given by section 68(1) above;

• [F32“universal postal service provider” means a universal service provider (within the meaning of the Postal Services Act 2000);

• “voter” means a person voting at an election and includes a person voting as proxy and, except in the parliamentary elections rules, and the rules under section 36 and 42 above, a person voting by proxy, and “vote” (whether noun or verb) shall be construed accordingly, except that in those rules any reference to an elector voting or an elector’s vote shall include a reference to an elector voting by proxy or an elector’s vote given by proxy.

(2)For the purposes of the Repesentation of the People Acts a person shall be deemed not to have attained a given age until the commencement of the relevant anniversary of the day of his birth.]]

203 Local government provisions as to England and Wales.U.K.

(1)In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, in relation to England and Wales—

• F33. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• [F34“Assembly constituency” has the same meaning as in the 1999 Act (see section 2(4) and (5) of that Act);]

• [F34“Authority election” means—

  (a)

  any election of the Mayor of London;

  (b)

  any election of a constituency member of the London Assembly; or

  (c)

  the election of the London members of the London Assembly at an ordinary election;]

• [F34“constituency member”, in relation to the London Assembly, has the same meaning as in the 1999 Act;]

• [F34“election of a constituency member of the London Assembly” means—

  (a)

  any such election at an ordinary election; or

  (b)

  an election under section 10 of the 1999 Act (election to fill a vacancy in an Assembly constituency);]

• [F34“election of the Mayor of London” means—

  (a)

  any such election at an ordinary election; or

  (b)

  an election under section 16 of the 1999 Act (election to fill a vacancy in the office of Mayor of London);]

• [F35“electoral area” means

  (a)

  F36 any electoral division or ward or, in the case of a parish or community in which there are no wards, the parish or community, for which the election of councillors is held under the local government Act]

  (b)

  [F37Greater London, in the case of—

  (i)

  any election of the Mayor of London; or

  (ii)

  the election of the London members of the London Assembly at an ordinary election;

  (c)

  any Assembly constituency for which the election of a constituency member of the London Assembly is held;]

• “local authority” means [F38the Greater London Authority,] a county council [F39a county borough council,], F40. . . a district council, a London borough council F41 . . . or a parish or community council;

• “local government Act” means the M3Local Government Act 1972 F42 . . .;

• “local government area” means [F43Greater London,]a county [F44county borough,], London borough F45. . . , district, parish or community;

• “local government election” means

  (a)

  F46 the election of councillors for any electoral area [F47; or

  (b)

  any Authority election]

• [F34“London member”, in relation to the London Assembly, has the same meaning as in the 1999 Act;]

• [F34“the 1999 Act” means the Greater London Authority Act 1999;]

[F48(1A)In the application of this Act in relation to England and Wales, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference to—

(a)a local government election, or

(b)an election under the local government Act,

shall be taken to include a reference to an Authority election.

F48(1B)Any reference in this Act to a registered political party submitting a list of candidates to be London members of the London Assembly at an ordinary election shall be construed in accordance with section 4(5)(a) of, and Part II of Schedule 2 to, the 1999 Act; and related expressions shall be construed accordingly.]

[F49(2)The following provisions of this Act, namely—

(a)Part I, so far as it has effect for the purposes of parliamentary elections, and

(b)Parts I to III, so far as they have effect for the purposes of Authority elections,

shall (subject to any express provision contained in the Part or Parts in question) apply in relation to the City as if the City were a London borough and the Common Council were a London borough council.

(3)The modifications made by subsection (2) above do not affect section 52(4) above.

(4)This Act applies in relation to the Isles of Scilly as if those isles were a county and as if the council of those isles were a county council, except that—

(a)[F50the council shall appoint an officer of the council to be registration officer for the isles and] paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 2 F51. . . shall apply as if the isles were a district and the council were a district council;

(b)the provisions of Part I relating to the conduct of local government elections shall have effect in relation to those isles subject to such adaptations as the Secretary of State may by regulations prescribe.

(5)For the purposes of section 265 of the M4Local Government Act 1972 (application to Isles of Scilly) the provisions of this Act as to rules made by the Secretary of State under section 36 above shall be deemed to be contained in a public general Act relating to local government.

Scotland and Northern IrelandU.K.

204 General application to Scotland.U.K.

(1)This section has (in addition to any express application elsewhere in this Act) effect for the general application of this Act to Scotland, and accordingly—

• “electoral area”, in relation to a local government election, means the electoral F52. . . ward for which the election is held;

• [F53“local authority” means a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994]

• “local government Act” means the [F54Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994];

• [F55“local government area” means the area of a local authority;]

• “local government election” means an election of councillors by local government electors for an electoral area.

(2)For a reference to a borough constituency substitute a reference to a burgh constituency.

(3)For a reference to the High Court substitute a reference to the Court of Session and for a reference to the county court or a judge of that court substitute a reference to the sheriff.

(4)The power conferred by section 57 above on the Court of Session to make acts of sederunt for the appointment of judges to hear appeals under that section or to fill any vacancy among the judges so appointed is not required to be exercisable by statutory instrument.

(5)A reference to the Director of Public Prosecutions or the Attorney General refers to the Lord Advocate.

(6)for a reference to a plaintiff or defendant substitute respectively a reference to a pursuer or defender, for a reference to a recognisance substitute a reference to a bond of caution and for a reference to an injunction substitute a reference to an interdict.

(7)Any reference to the report of an election court shall, in relation to an election court trying a petition questioning an election of councillors in Scotland, be construed as a reference to a finding of the court, and the expression “reported of a corrupt or illegal practice” shall be construed accordingly.

(8)For a reference to the register of licences substitute a reference to the register kept in pursuance of section 20 of the M5Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976.

(9)Section 231 of the M6Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (application to sheriff in cases of difficulty) applies to the provisions of sections 41 to 45 above as that section applied to those provisions immediately before their repeal and reenactment by this Act.

(10)Notwithstanding the repeal by this Act of sections 19 and 43 of the Representation of the M7People Act 1918, those sections shall continue to have such effect as they had immediately before that repeal in relation to regulation 16 of section 2 of the M8Universities Elections Amendment (Scotland) Act 1881.

205 General application to Northern Ireland.U.K.

(1)This section has (in addition to any express application elsewhere in the Act) effect for the general application of this Act to Northern Ireland, and accordingly—

[F56(a)a reference to the Attorney General refers to the Attorney General for Northern Ireland;

(aa)a reference to the Director of Public Prosecutions refers to the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland;]

(b)subject to subsection (2) below, a reference to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as it applies in Northern Ireland.

(2)Nothing in this Act affects the law relating to local government in Northern Ireland.

OperationU.K.

206 Transitional and saving provisions, amendments and repeals.U.K.

In Schedule 7 to this Act—

(a)Part I has effect as to its transitional and saving provisions, and

(b)Part II has effect as to its provisions relating to the interpretation of other Acts,

and subject to that Schedule—

(i)the enactments and order specified in Schedule 8 to this Act have effect subject to the amendments consequent on this Act specified in that Schedule; and

(ii)the enactments and orders specified in Schedule 9 to this Act (of which those in Part I are obsolete) are repealed or revoked to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

207 Citation and commencement.U.K.

(1)This Act may be cited as the Representation of the People Act 1983, and is included among the Acts which may be cited as the Representation of the People Acts.

(2)This Act shall come into force on such day as the Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument appoint.