Voter ID won't be scrapped, minister says

When the Conservatives brought successful the arguable alteration to the electoral strategy which forced radical to bring photograph ID to polling stations successful bid to vote, Labour opposed the measure.

Sir Keir Starmer said it could risk "locking radical retired of democracy".

Today, the authorities has decided to proceed with the policy, alternatively announcing it is expanding the forms of ID which volition beryllium accepted.

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Plans are nether mode for UK-issued slope cards to beryllium included arsenic acceptable forms of ID. This volition beryllium legislated for successful a caller Elections Bill.

The ideology curate said the elector ID argumentation was inactive successful spot to forestall "issues from erstwhile elections" including fraud and different forms of predetermination interference.

Rushanara Ali said she was alert that morganatic voters, including disabled voters, were excluded from voting astatine the past election.

She added that her plans for expanding which forms of ID volition beryllium accepted would beryllium "striking the close balance" of fairness.

In August past year, the Electoral Commission said immoderate 3% of radical bash not person photograph ID eligible for voting.

That includes 14% of radical successful assembly housing, 10% of unemployed radical and 7% of disabled people.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has raised questions successful erstwhile elections implicit whether the elector ID argumentation is discriminatory towards taste number voters and disabled voters.

"We are acrophobic astir the interaction elector ID had connected radical who stock definite protected characteristics," a spokesperson said.

"This could impact the close to escaped and antiauthoritarian elections, protected nether the Human Rights Act."

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During the predetermination campaign, some Angela Rayner and the premier curate said the disproportionality of the argumentation was concerning.

Sir Keir told maine helium would "look into it".

The disablement foundation Mencap welcomed the imaginable of a reappraisal astatine the time, but contiguous it seems the authorities person shelved these plans.

The section for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has been approached for comment.