Voter ID: an attack on democracy

One of this government’s most dishonest policies is the Voter ID scheme which obliges people wanting to vote to arrive at polling stations with a form of photo ID chosen from a cynically constructed list.

Superficially, it looks like a solution in search of a problem. That is where the dishonesty comes in.

The weak, disingenuous arguments put forward by the Tories that it was to stop voter fraud, where someone impersonates a registered voter, were simply lies. Voter fraud is an insignificant, almost non-existent, problem. The real reason was a crude, misdirected attempt at voter suppression. Armed with their highly selective list of acceptable ID they hoped to bar many young people – far less likely support the Tories at the best of times, let alone this corrupt shambles – from voting.

Did it work?

Only up to a point. The report from the Electoral Commission says 14,000 people were officially recorded as being turned away from polling stations in the local elections in May and did not return. That is 14,000 too many, especially as many were identified as being from disadvantaged groups. Added to that has to be the number of people who did not even get into a polling station as they were met by “greeters” who asked if they had ID, turning away those without it before they had a chance to have their presence at the polling station officially recorded. 40% of polling stations used this system.

I certainly saw this happen at my own polling station in the Brentwood Borough Council ward of Shenfield. Some of those I saw who were put off at this stage came back later but, although I wasn’t outside the station for more than a couple of hours, I suspect many did not.

I had to smile at some of the findings in the Electoral Commission report which suggested that the elderly – who are usually more likely to vote Tory – were disproportionately represented among those 14,000 disenfranchised voters.

Some research has suggested that as many as 400,000 people could be put off from voting at a General Election because of the hassle of finding suitable ID, or because they do not have something that is on the list and do not know about the ways of obtaining acceptable identification from their local council. That is a shocking number.

Turnout in elections has been steadily falling over the years. That is not good for democracy. Let’s not mince words: anything that makes it less likely citizens will vote is an attack on democracy.

This policy needs to be scrapped as part of a wider reform of electoral law in this country. This should include lowering the voting age to 16 and introducing proportional representation for all elections. The latter could have an explosive impact on democracy in the UK as it would remove the need for the awkward permanent coalitions we call the Conservative and Labour parties. Both would fragment as the pressure to form large parties uncomfortable in their own skins would be removed.

• I am happy to record that, despite the new impediments to voting, the good people of Shenfield still produced one of the largest ward turnouts in the recent local elections, 41.4%.

• To those who throw their hands up horror at the thought of coalitions running national and local government, I can report that the Joint Administration we – the Liberal Democrats – have formed with Labour in Brentwood to wrest control of the Council from the Tories has hit the ground running and has all the hallmarks of a successful partnership. It can be done.