Labour comments on expert warning that voter ID plans will undermine the right to vote

Cat Smith MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Democracy, commenting on expert warning that voter ID plans will undermine the right to vote, said:

“The Conservatives’ discriminatory voter ID plans threaten to reverse decades of democratic progress – these plans come straight out of Trump’s playbook.

“On the anniversary of the Equal Franchise Act which gave women the equal right to vote, our priority should be to encourage the nine million people missing from our elector registers to get registered, not making voting more difficult.

“The Government must heed these warnings and urgently rethink this pointless policy.”

Ends

Notes to Editors

1. The Electoral Reform Society warns in an embargoed report that the government’s plans for mandatory voter ID will undermine the right to vote as the government prepares to unveil new legislation requiring ID at polling stations.