The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
Week commencing 7th April 2023
The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
Week commencing 7th April 2023
The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
That indeed is the question that millions will face when the local elections in England are held next month. In the good old days you only had to produce your voting card to cast your vote. Now voters will have to prove who they are at the polling station with an approved list photo-ID card. Anyone who cannot confirm their identity with a passport or an ID from the Government’s list will simply be turned away.
Now this won’t be a problem for the overwhelming majority of the electorate who never bother to vote in local elections. For those who do it won’t be much trouble for the elderly who only need to produce their free bus passes to get their ballot papers. But for the rest – particularly those who don’t have a driving licence or a passport – the only alter- native is to apply at least a week in advance for a photo-ID ‘Voter Authority Certificate’ to cast their vote. This clearly will deter many young people from voting.
The Government say they’ve done this to combat electoral fraud. But the scale of this abuse of the voting system is miniscule. A total of 193 cases of alleged electoral fraud were investigated by the police during 2022 when local elections were held in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The police issued one caution in relation to a case of alleged electoral fraud and court proceedings were initiated in relation to one other case.
Many suspect that what really lies behind this move is a Tory belief that most young voters lean towards Labour and anything that deters them from voting can only benefit the Conservative & Unionist Party.