On 17 January the House of Commons passed the Elections Bill– another front, alongside the Police Bill, Borders Bill and others, in the Tories’ push to narrow democracy. It now goes to the House of Lords.
The Bill introduces a requirement for photo ID in order to vote, a change the Electoral Reform Society says could disenfranchise two million people; gives ministers more power over the Electoral Commission; and in a more minor but unbelievably blatant attempt to gain a Tory advantage, abolishes preferential voting for elected mayors in favour of first-past-the-post.
In a specific attack on the labour movement, the Bill also introduces changes to expenditure rules which mean that pro-Labour trade union spending in elections will be counted jointly with the party, potentially massively reducing its funds.
There is a wealth of evidence that the ID requirement will disproportionately hit people on low incomes and people of colour, among other socially disadvantaged groups.
The Tories are aping the Republicans. They have also borrowed the spurious argument about “election fraud”.
The Electoral Commission says unambiguously that voter fraud is barely a problem at all, in the UK. (There have been three convictions in the last seven years.) No wonder the Tories want to take it over.
