Anne Main voted against proposals to change the referendum “purdah” rules for the EU Referendum which would possibly have allowed taxpayers’ money to be used to back the government side in the referendum.

The St Albans MP was one of only 37 Conservative MPs to have defied the government whip. Anne said ‘it is important that this one-in-a-lifetime referendum is fair, and doesn’t favour one side or the other.

‘The amendment I backed simply reinstates existing rules that were in place, from the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.’

Mrs Anne Main (St Albans) (Con): Will my right hon. Friend comment briefly on the comments that were sent out at just gone half-past 12 today by Michael Carpenter, the Speaker’s Counsel, in which he said:

“I commented about all this in my earlier note to the Committee. Mr Lidington seems simply to repeat the unsound arguments advanced before.”

For those of us who have concerns, that is a very worrying statement from such learned counsel.

Mr Lidington: If my hon. Friend had received the legal advice that I have had, she might take a rather different view.

Many hon. Members have said that the purdah rules that apply during elections have worked well and I agree. Of course, those rules are based entirely on guidance and convention. They allow for common sense and involve no legal risk. Section 125 of the 2000 Act is very different, since it is a statutory restriction. Given that the EU referendum debate will, I think we would all accept, involve people on both sides of the argument with deep personal pockets and passionate views on the subject, the risk of legal challenges during the campaign is real. The Government are seeking, through the amendments, to manage that legal risk.

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