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.”
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.
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