At least one-third of voters who were turned away from polling stations at the London elections in May did not bother returning to cast a vote, according to figures released by a London Assembly Member.
The fix is in: Tory voting rules affected the disabled and unemployed worst, the Electoral Commission found
From a Tory perspective, the voter ID requirements probably had the desired effect then, as 5,065 Londoners were refused a vote when first attending polling stations around the capital, and 1,426 never bothered coming back – some 28.2%.
In Croydon, 291 people were refused a vote because of a lack of photo ID, with 108 not returning – a rate of 37%. Figures for other south London boroughs show that 29.3% of Lambeth voters were refused a vote and did not return with valid ID; in Sutton, that figure was 22.7%; Bromley 25.2%; and Merton 19.7%.
Only Camden (38.6%) and Redbridge (40%) had higher “non-return” rates than Croydon.
“These were the first elections in Great Britain where changes introduced by the Elections Act 2022 were in place,” says the Electoral Commission, an independent agency, in a report on voter ID. “Voters needed to show photographic identification to vote in polling stations…
“Our interim analysis highlighted evidence that some people found it harder than others to show accepted voter ID, including disabled people and the unemployed,” the Electoral Commission said after the 2023 local elections.
“We have now undertaken further data collection and analysis of evidence to establish a clearer picture of the impact of the new requirement. This analysis confirms the interim findings and indicates that this stems from two overlapping issues – the variations in ownership of accepted photo ID and in awareness of the need to show ID when voting in person.”
The Electoral Commission previously found that 4% of non-voters in the 2023 local elections refrained from voting because of the new photo ID rules.
They also found that those renting from a social landlord, the unemployed, lower social grades, and disabled people were less likely to have the identification needed to be able to vote.
The Electoral Commission’s report includes a series of recommendations, including a review of what forms of ID are deemed acceptable, to provide options for voters who do not have or cannot access any form of accepted ID, and to increase the awareness of the support available for disabled voters.
The gerrymandering rules were introduced under the previous Tory government. The requirement was introduced regardless of data showing that there were only 33 allegations of impersonation at the polling station out of 58million votes cast at the 2019 General Election.
There was a turnout of 40.5% for the London Elections last May – meaning almost 6-in-10 did not bother to vote at all. Despite the Tory vote-rigging efforts, Labour’s Sadiq Khan was elected as London Mayor for a third term, with more than 275,000 votes more than the Tories’ Susan Hall, from total votes cast of 2.48million.
Today, Len Duvall, the leader of the Labour group at the London Assembly, said: “It is extremely worrying that so many Londoners were disenfranchised because of the previous government’s photo ID rules.
“Our democratic rights are precious. Sadly, the last government’s voter ID rules are getting in the way of Londoners having their voice heard.
“Make no mistake: these rules were brought in because the last government thought it would keep away those people less likely to vote for them. I urge Londoners to find photo ID or get a Voter Authority Certificate ahead of the 2026 local elections in our city so that they can have their say.”
Duvall failed to say whether he would lobby the current government, under his party colleague Keir Starmer as Prime Minister, to have the voting ID laws repealed. Following last month’s General Election, Labour has a 158-seat majority, so can enable, or repeal, pretty much any law that they choose.
We asked Labour arch-loyalist Duvall whether he would be doing anything practical to improve the voter ID situation which he says was introduced only “because the last government thought it would keep away those people less likely to vote for them”.
This is what he said: “I am aware that the new government is prioritising growth, repairing our economy and keeping us safe following the riots across the country and they have my full support in doing so. In the meantime, I will be making sure that Londoners are aware of the need to bring photo ID to vote and what forms of identification are accepted.”
So that’s a “no” then.
*5pm UPDATE: This article was updated to add the weasly words of a London Labour Assembly Member, who despite identifying the dodginess of the voter ID requirements, won’t actually do anything to change it.
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
As featured on Google News Showcase
- Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content. Our comments policy can be read by clicking here
Inside Croydon is a member of the Independent Community News Network
- Inside Croydon works together with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, as well as BBC London News and ITV London
ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
What are the chances of powerless, Piss Poor Perry, trying to introduce a ban on eScooters in Croydon, like the mayors in Paris and Melbourne ?!
They are already banned, Jim, to the extent that Croydon lies outside the London licensed-use area.
But, as with so many things involving the Perry’s mates in the Met Police in Croydon, there’s zero enforcement.
What’s this got do with voter ID?
Wasn’t it Blair who wanted National ID cards?
The voter ID laws are unnecessary and discriminatory and so they should be removed. Sadly this is just another example of a Labour politician pointing out that something is unfair but not planning to do anything to fix it. As this article points out, the Labour Government has a massive majority and so can do whatever it wants. So whatever they do or don’t do is their choice and we should never forget that.
If Labour really believed in making our system more democratic they would not only get rid of the voter ID laws, they would
– introduce a proportional election system for Westminster and local Councils so that the results match how people voted
– replace the House of Lords with an elected chamber
– bring back preferential voting for single posts like the Mayor of London
– and properly fund all public bodies so that they can do what they are elected to do and don’t have their hands tied by ideology driven budget cuts
If Labour choose not to do these things they are choosing to keep power for themselves instead of giving power to us the voters
Is all this official Green policy Peter? Or is this your personal opinion? Don’t know what’s wrong with ‘ideology-driven’ anything – that’s called politics!