Luke Pollard MP Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
Today on #PoliticsLive I spoke out against the Conservatives’ attempt to gerrymander elections with compulsory voter ID.
The chances of you falling victim to voter impersonation in a GE are the same as being hit by lightning 54 times in a row.
It's blatant voter suppression. pic.twitter.com/m5WdAQwL3f
— Luke Pollard MP (@LukePollard) December 13, 2022
Today I appeared on BBC’s Politics Live, voicing my strong opposition to the Conservatives’ attempting to gerrymander elections with compulsory voter ID.
It is is voter suppression, pure and simple.
The Labour party has consistently opposed the idea of requiring voters to present identification in order to cast their ballots.
There are are a number of reasons why we believe that this is a misguided proposal. First and foremost, requiring voter ID has the potential to disenfranchise many eligible voters.
Marginalised communities are less likely to have voter ID and may face difficulties in obtaining it. This means that they could be effectively barred from exercising their right to vote. In Plymouth, 8,000 people don’t have the ID that will be required to vote.
There is no credible evidence to suggest that requiring voter ID would actually improve the integrity of our elections. The chances of you falling victim to voter impersonation fraud in a General Election are the same as you being hit by lightning 54 times in a row.
The £180 million this new piece of legislation will cost could by far better spent by councils on issues like social care, gritting our roads and bin collections, not stopping people to vote.
The Labour party will continue to oppose this proposal and stand up for the right of all eligible voters to have their voices heard.