It is not always easy to guess what lasting effects a prime minister will have. With Sir Keir Starmer’s announcement that he is leaving parliament – he was only ever a backbencher for four months when first elected, and he clearly does not care for it – immediate thoughts are of an ignominious end. But Starmer may leave behind a profound change.

Today the House of Commons will take the remaining stages of the Representation of the People Bill, then send it to the House of Lords for its scrutiny there. It is a hugely significant piece of draft legislation but has largely disappeared in the fog of everyday political war.

Representation of the People Acts are generally major statutes because they regulate the electoral system and how the House of Commons is composed. The 1832 Act, the Great Reform Act, swept away rotten boroughs and established a systematic property-based franchise; the 1867 Act lowered the property qualification and extended the franchise to renters and agricultural tenants; the 1918 allowed all men over 21 to vote and enfranchised some women voters.

Should there be a height requirement or a test on telling the time and knowing the alphabet?

Should there be a height requirement or a test on telling the time and knowing the alphabet?

The main effect of the current Bill, introduced in February but subject to a carryover motion so it could be revived in the new parliamentary session after May, will be to lower the minimum age for voting in general elections, local elections and........

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