Will Boris Johnson’s voter ID plans really mean more votes for the Conservatives?
The IndependentIf there is one measure in the Queen’s Speech that appears to be a more or less naked attempt at suppression of the Labour vote, it is the proposal for compulsory voter ID at polling stations. The Electoral Commission noted with some satisfaction in a 2014 review that there is “no evidence to suggest that there have been widespread, systematic attempts to undermine or interfere with recent elections through electoral fraud”. It would appear to be a quite blatant attempt effectively to disenfranchise the poor and ethnic minorities who might otherwise tend to vote Labour, and thus deliver an undeserved marginal electoral advantage to Conservatives. After all, the poor with “chaotic” lives are less likely to hold photo ID or know where it is, just as, in the old days, they were less likely to own a car and turn out to vote on wet and windy evenings. Of course you might argue that nowadays the “working class” and even the poor are more likely to vote Conservative, and that old assumptions about the vote need to be updated.