New Clause 11 - Power to make regulations about registration, absent voting and other matters

Part of Elections Bill – in the House of Commons at 8:00 pm on 17 January 2022.

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Photo of Nick Smith Nick Smith Labour, Blaenau Gwent 8:00, 17 January 2022

I will answer those remarks in my contribution.

I sat on the Bill Committee, and I heard a High Court judge tell us that voter ID was not the solution. He said, and this is a judge who has done many electoral law cases, that asking for

“ID at polling stations, frankly, is neither here nor there.”––[Official Report, Elections Public Bill Committee, 15 September 2021; c. 15, Q13.]

The data shows that there were just three convictions for personations since 2016. The proposals really are a sledgehammer to crack a nut.