This is a 'subversion of the democratic process'

Wera Hobhouse is the Liberal Democrats’ Climate Change and Transport Spokesperson and MP for Bath 

The run up to the May local elections is well under way and we will all have the privilege of once again exercising our democratic right to vote. Well, almost all of us. These elections will have a stark difference to any we have experienced before in this country. You will now be required to show up with a photo ID to vote. These laws have the potential to disenfranchise and take away this most fundamental right from millions of our fellow citizens. It is a blatant attack on marginalised groups across this country who will be disproportionately affected by this Conservative Government’s deliberately reckless lawmaking. 

We have been assured by Ministers that this will not be a difficult challenge to overcome and that they have a plan to make sure everyone is informed and has the opportunity to get the right ID. They have introduced the Voter Authority Certificate for those who do not have the relevant documents and it is free to apply for. To this end, the Electoral Commission launched an information and awareness campaign about the coming changes. A campaign that has cost the taxpayer £5.6 million. It started at the beginning of January yet it was not until near the end of the month that people could start applying for the new certificates via the Government’s website. Even more disturbing is the new evidence about just how ineffective this information campaign has been. Only about 10,000 people have applied for the Voter Authority Certificate so far. That equates to a measly 0.5% of the total who are estimated to need the document, a total of 2 million people. At this rate, it would take 8 years, close to two general election cycles, for all of the disenfranchised voters to reclaim their rights. 

Trials of the schemes in 2019 suggested that the new voter ID requirement would lead to tens of thousands being turned away at polling stations. Another study in 2021 by the Electoral Commission itself found that the proportion of the population without usable ID was particularly high among disadvantaged groups. 11% of those who were affected were unemployed, a further 8% had a disability. The Electoral Commission has also warned that young people will be disproportionately affected, too. The absurdity of this is that elderly people’s travel cards, such as the 60-plus Oyster card, will be accepted as ID but a young person’s railcard will not. It could not be more obvious who the Government is trying to target with this punitive legislation. The Government has freely admitted that it is happy with how the scheme is going, even in light of the shockingly low uptake rates and knowing full well the disproportionate nature of the legislation. A spokesperson said that they are “pleased that so many people have applied within the first two weeks.” 

This new roadblock to democracy is another example of the Conservatives having completely backwards priorities. There is little evidence of electoral fraud at polling stations. At the last general election in 2019, there was one conviction of voter fraud out of over 47.5 million voters. That represents 0.0000021014% of the total votes. Any Government attempt to claim that these changes needed to come in to protect electoral integrity fall completely apart. To add insult to injury, during a cost of living crisis, Ministers thought it would be wise to spend millions in taxpayers’ money to solve a non-existent problem. The whole scheme is frankly offensive.

It is also dangerous. The Conservative Chair of the Local Government Association (LGA) has called for the Government to push back voter ID requirements due to the LGA’s concern that councils have “insufficient time” to properly introduce the requirements ahead of next year’s elections. Councils have had to review polling stations to see if they are compatible with the changes as well as launch their own local awareness campaigns separate to that of the Electoral Commissions. Polling station staff will also have to be adequately trained in the new processes and there is also the risk of abuse. Councillors fear that staff will have to act as ‘bouncers at the ballot box’ and that they will not have the staff required with volunteers understandably worried about abuse. 

These voter ID laws will be devastating and amount to an ill-thought out, ill-judged subversion of the democratic process. I can only encourage people to apply for a postal vote. For those without photo ID, applying for a postal vote is the safest way to ensure that you can have your say in our democracy. A say that this Government should absolutely not be putting in jeopardy.

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