Michael Gove faces grilling by MPs on constitutional affairs
Levelling Up Secretary and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations Michael Gove faces questions from the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on his elections, Union, and intergovernmental relations briefs.
Meeting details
The Committee is likely to press for answers on:
- the Government’s response to the Committee’s Governing England report
- the Government’s response to the Committee’s Work of the Electoral Commission report and related concerns about elections law
- the review of intergovernmental relations.
Earlier in March the Committee called out the Government for the poor quality of its response to the Governing England report. The Committee said it showed a clear lack of engagement with the important issue of good governance in England and called on Mr Gove to appear before the Committee to account for the response.
The Committee criticised the Government’s refusal to set up an independent commission on reforming governance in England, arguing that the issue will now “remain a political football”.
Questions are also likely on the new requirement for voters to show ID at the polling stations at May’s local elections in England, the Government’s rejection of the Committee’s calls to simplify electoral law, and the lack of detail on the implementation timetable for the Elections Act 2020.
The session also provides the opportunity to discuss the state of intergovernmental relations since the review’s publication in January 2022.