Voter ID is an expensive distraction that will disadvantage hundreds of people

At a time when the country is facing huge financial challenges, the Government is proposing spending up to £180million over ten years on a Voter ID scheme that will make it harder for people to vote in elections.

We live in a country that doesn’t have mandatory photo ID cards, yet our Government wants to insist on everyone having one if they want to vote in elections. That’s despite millions of people not owning a photo ID - often the elderly, the young and people with disabilities.

If those people want to keep their right to vote, then they face either paying out to get one or having to go to the council offices to apply for a free one - at a cost of up to £180million for taxpayers. No one knows how long it will take to get this ID, because even the Government hasn’t worked it out properly.

The whole scheme is an expensive distraction that risks hundreds of people in our area being turned away from the polling station when they go to vote.

I urge local people to support organisations like Unlock Democracy, the Electoral Reform Society and Fair Vote, in writing to our MP asking them to oppose these plans.

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