Representation of the People Act 1945

The act was divided into five parts. Part I extended the local government franchise and abolished the qualification of a spouse, and extended the meaning of "member of the forces" so as to include members of the Indian, Burmese and colonial defence forces and certain persons engaged in war work abroad. Part II provided for the resumption of local elections, including triennial elections, the annual election of one-third of councillors, elective auditors and the qualification for election and for holding office, with separate provision for the City of London and for county, district and town council elections in Scotland. Part III made temporary provision as to registration, including the registers to be in force for local government and parliamentary elections, the May 1945 register and the annual register under the act. Part IV made temporary provision as to voting, including postal voting by service voters at parliamentary and university elections and proxy voting by service voters at local government elections. Part V contained miscellaneous and general provisions, including an amendment as to the redistribution of seats, provision as to the expenses of registration, interpretation, and the application of the act to Northern Ireland.^[2]

The act had five schedules. The first prescribed the forms of service declaration and of declaration of residence by a war worker; the second made provision as to registration as a local government elector; the third made transitional provision on the expiration of the National Registration Act 1939 (2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. 91); the fourth adapted enactments to the act; and the fifth listed the enactments repealed.^[2]

Section 1(3) of, and the first schedule to, the Elections and Jurors Act 1945 (9 & 10 Geo. 6. c. 21) provided that section 16, section 17 and section 22 of the act, sub-paragraph (iv) of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 13, and certain words in sub-paragraph (iii) of that paragraph, should cease to have effect.^[3]

The temporary registration and voting arrangements made by the act were replaced by the Representation of the People Act 1948 (11 & 12 Geo. 6. c. 65), which put the registration of parliamentary and local government electors on a permanent peacetime footing.^[4]

Part II of the act, and in section 38 of the , the words " and the expression local government elector shall be construed accordingly ", were repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1963, which came into force on 31 July 1963.^[5]

The whole act was repealed by section 1(1) of, and part VI of schedule 1 to, the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1978, which came into force on 31 July 1978.^[6] That act gave effect to recommendations of the Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission for the repeal of enactments no longer of practical utility.