The Elections Bill 2021-22 was introduced by the UK Government on 5 June 2021 which, if enacted, would require voters to show proof of identification at polling stations for UK parliamentary elections and local elections. The bill’s intention is to help protect individuals from potential voter fraud. On the other hand, SNP Member of Parliament, Kirsten Oswald claims that “These laws are designed to suppress votes among groups that traditionally vote against the Tories.” This comment is typical of the wider scaremongering and misinformation that is peddled by some political parties.
The types of identification involved in the UK Governments’ proposals can include passports and driving licences, but also include forms of identification involved in the PASS which extends to Blue Badges and Young Scot Cards. In addition, the UK government intends on allowing people without existing photo ID to apply for a free voter card from their local council to use in the polling station. However, research commissioned by the UK Government for these proposals found that 96% of individuals already had suitable photo ID.
As it currently stands, voters in the United Kingdom do not have to show any form of identification at polling stations before casting their vote. The exception to this is in Northern Ireland, where voters have had to provide photo identification in order to receive their ballot papers since 2002. The independent and non-partisan Electoral Commission found no evidence that the voter identification laws in Northern Ireland affected turnout for different groups, however they did find that voter fraud reduced significantly. Thus, following a review of the requirement to show ID in Northern Ireland, along with the evaluation of UK Government pilot schemes, the Electoral Commission recommended that photo identification be required for voting in the rest of the United Kingdom.
Labour and the SNP claim these measures are put in place to disenfranchise ethnic minority groups, not only completely disregarding the Electoral Commission’s recommendations, but also ignoring the fact that these measures are there to protect BAME voters from voter fraud. A lengthy academic report prepared by the Electoral Commission, the University of Manchester and the University of Liverpool found that voters from Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities were “likely to be disproportionately vulnerable to falling victims of [voter] fraud”, this was especially the case for younger people in these communities. In addition, the Electoral Commission identified 16 local authorities that were the most at risk of electoral fraud, all of which had significantly larger South Asian communities. Therefore, it is clear that the very groups that Labour and the SNP claim this bill is supporting, are the same groups who would benefit most from these protections and safeguards against voter fraud.
Why then, do the Labour Party in particular, consistently fight against safeguards preventing voter fraud and consistently disregard it as a non-issue? In the 2017 and 2019 General Elections, the issue of students voting twice, once with their home address and once with their student address, became a hot topic issue. In addition, there were many cases of suspected voter fraud with students pretending to be other students, taking advantage of the fact that polling cards are distributed to thousands of residents within university halls of residence. All of this provides Labour with the advantage as, in 2017, two thirds of university students voted for Labour. This is particularly troubling when combined with the fact that, while he was leader, Jeremy Corbyn had employed an individual who had a criminal conviction for registering over 100 fake voters. In addition, former Labour Strategic Adviser James Mills stated on a podcast “What’s more Labour than electoral fraud, eh?”
The issue of voter identification is one of many issues where the left appears to be using manufactured problems for BAME individuals as an excuse to stand in opposition to the radical change the United Kingdom needs. The long myth of voter identification being racist has, in fact, been harming BAME voters by preventing key legislation from safeguarding against voter fraud. The SNP and Labour Party should stop manufacturing grievances to justify their policy decisions, and instead defend their positions with statistics and data.