'Gerrymandering continues': Voter ID rules to be tightened further

By Lewis Denison, ITV News Westminster Producer

Rules on voter ID will be tightened further for future elections, the government has announced, after identification was first enforced for last month's local polls in England.

Ministers said they want to "reduce the opportunity for individuals to exploit the absent voting process and steal votes" by extending rules to postal and proxy votes.

Anyone wanting to vote by post will have to prove their ID once every three years and identity checks will be carried on all those applying for someone to vote on their behalf.

Proxy voters will be limited to vote on behalf of a maximum of four people and no more than two of those can be for people residing in the UK.

The tightening of rules comes after the Electoral Commission said some hopeful voters were turned away from polling stations during the local elections because they did not have valid photographic ID.

The Electoral Reform Society, which has strongly opposed the introduction, said it had seen "countless examples of people being denied their right to vote due to these new laws".

Director of policy and research, Jess Garland, said: "From people caught out by having the wrong type of photo ID to others turned away for not looking enough like their photo. One voter turned away is one voter too many."

Following further voter ID rules being introduced, transitional processes will be in place for electors with existing postal or proxy vote arrangements, said Minister for Faith and Communities Baroness Scott of Brybrook, who announced the changes in the House of Lords with a written statement.

The changes will support the delivery of a new digital service which will enable electors to apply for a postal or proxy arrangement online, rather than manually as is currently the case.

Regulations will apply to UK parliamentary elections and other reserved elections, referendums and recall petitions.

Labour's London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the changes were "outrageous" and would deter younger voters.

"The Tories have no shame. As Jacob Rees-Mogg admitted, voter ID changes are an attempt to rig elections in the Tories' favour," he tweeted.

"It’s outrageous, and will see even more young people and minorities lose their vote."

Labour MP Angela Eagle also tweeted, writing "gerrymandering continues apace".

They were referencing comments from former Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, who suggested a plan to rig the vote had backfired.

“Parties that try and gerrymander end up finding their clever scheme comes back to bite them, as, dare I say, we found by insisting on voter ID for elections,” he told the National Conservatism conference last week.

“We found the people who didn’t have ID were elderly and they, by and large, voted Conservative, so we made it hard for our own voters and we upset a system that worked perfectly well.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak denied this was the case, insisting he was “very comfortable” with the rules.

The move to "further strengthen the security of the ballot" comes despite reports that thousands of people were rejected from voting in England's local elections on May 4 over lack of ID.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...

Democracy Volunteers, a group of election observers, said it conducted snapshot surveys in 118 councils and found 1.2% of those attending polling stations were turned away.

Critics had accused the government creating rules which would benefit older voters more likely to back the Tories while making it tougher for younger people more inclined to support Labour.

Typical forms of ID such as passports and driving licences are accepted, but other forms of ID specific for older people such as bus passes were allowed but younger person's equivalents were not.

Asked about claims of gerrymandering, Mr Sunak said: “These laws, the Labour government put them in place for Northern Ireland when they were in office, point one.

"Point two, they’re used in tons of other countries across Europe and indeed Canada. Point three, 98% of people already possessed one of the forms of ID that were eligible and, for those that didn’t have one, they could apply for a free voter ID.

"Those are all the facts that make me think it is an entirely reasonable thing to do in line with lots of other countries, including in Northern Ireland, which the Labour government did.

"Also, I think it is an entirely reasonable thing that there is integrity in our voting system. That’s my general view on that.”