Westminster committee calls for PM to ditch voter ID plans
The government’s plan to make voters show photographic ID at polling stations risks causing a “reduction of trust in UK elections” and should be dropped, a Westminster committee today said.
The cross-party Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) said the government’s case for the new law has “simply not been good enough”.
A report from the committee said the imposition of similar measures in Northern Ireland led to a 2.3 per cent reduction in voter turnout the first time it was applied and that a similar result UK-wide would lead to 1m people not showing up to vote.
The proposed voter ID law is in the government’s Elections Bill, which also seeks to allow ministers to set the remit of the independent elections watchdog and reform the UK’s digital campaigning regulations.
Labour has criticised the proposed voter ID requirement on the grounds that it will likely disenfranchise working-class, older and black, Asian and minority ethnic Britons who are more likely to not have an official form of ID.
The government says the law is needed to stop voter fraud, however figures from the Electoral Commission show there were only six cases of voter fraud in the 2019 General Election.
William Wragg, Tory MP and chair of PACAC, said: “When people can be blocked from voting because they have incorrect documentation, have misplaced it or they have none, we must make doubly sure that the costs of the measures are commensurate with the risk.
“We feel that the Elections Bill proposals lack a sufficient evidence base, timely consultation, and transparency, all of which should be addressed before it makes any further progress. We cannot risk any reduction of trust in UK elections, which is why the majority of the committee is calling for the Bill to be paused to give time for more work to be done to ensure the measures are fit for purpose.”
A government spokesperson said: “We should not be complacent when it comes to ensuring our democratic process remains secure. Our Elections Bill will stamp out the potential for voter fraud, and will bring the rest of the UK in line with Northern Ireland, which has had photo identification to vote in elections since 2003.
“The UK government will be providing additional funding to cover the costs of implementing our reforms, and voters who do not have one of the required forms of photographic identification can apply for a free local Voter Card.”