Jon Trickett MP: Don’t lose your vote on May 4 – remember to take ID

Jon Trickett MP writes: That goes for all local and general elections from now on.

Last year the government brought in a new law that anyone turning up to vote in person who cannot produce an acceptable form of identification will be turned away.

Such forms of ID include a passport, a full or provisional driving licence and a range of travel cards and passes for the over 60s and disabled person’s travel passes.

You can check the full list of accepted IDs at: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/voter-id/accepted-forms-photo-id

I didn’t support this new law. It’s not only a waste of time and resources but it is deeply undemocratic.

The government claims it’s necessary to tackle voter fraud, but voter fraud is incredibly low.

There were few allegations and not a single proven case of voter impersonation at the ballot box in any election last year.

The government’s own impact assessment of the measure estimated that up to two million potential voters who do not have access to recognisable photo ID could be disenfranchised.

It is a huge change to the way we vote and will be a barrier to people without ID and those who do not know about the changes.

Ministers could have made the rules fairer but went for the strictest ones possible.

Could that be because ultimately this benefits the privileged and overwhelmingly disadvantages the working class, the young and the elderly?

Official data a couple of months ago showed that only 505 people aged 75-plus had applied for the free voter authority certificate which was available to those without the other accepted forms.

Fewer than six per cent of those applying for that document were aged under 25, even though they are more likely to lack the necessary ID – especially so, given that student cards and young people’s travel passes have been deemed as not acceptable.

It now seems that of an estimated between 925,000 and 3.5 million people without existing ID, only just over 48,000 people have registered online for the certificate.

Little wonder even some Tory MPs are calling for a delay to the rule.

It’s clear that when ministers make decisions about bringing forward new laws, they look at who is on the electoral register and who votes.

The Tories are turning to increasingly authoritarian measures to defend the gross inequities in our society.

Just like the Police and Crime Act, the Public Order Bill and the Strikes Bill, voter ID is all about stopping people doing things in protest at government policies and their impact, because a vote, just like demonstrations and industrial action, is a way of people having their voices heard.

So, I urge you, don’t lose your chance to send a message to the Tories that our communities are really suffering. If you don’t have a postal vote, make sure you have valid ID and turn up and vote!