UK Voters express anger at new ID rule changes

UK Voters have told the BBC of their anger at being unable to vote in local elections due to new ID rules, which critics say should be dropped.

This comes as Labour and the Lib Dems are making gains at the expense of the Conservatives across England, as 2023 local election results roll in.

James Greenhalgh, from Leeds, said he was “livid” after being unable to vote in Thursday’s local elections, having left his passport at home.

“I’ve voted all my life since I was 18, and this is the first time I haven’t,” the 32-year-old told the BBC.

He is one of a number of people frustrated by the changes.

Unlock Democracy said there were a “significant number” of incidents of people being unable to vote, and called the changes unnecessary.

Labour won control in Swindon, Plymouth, Medway and Stoke-on-Trent – a former Labour stronghold.

And the Lib Dems have won control in the traditionally Conservative Windsor and Maidenhead.

The elections are the first big test of Rishi Sunak’s electoral popularity since he became prime minister.

Only a minority of councils counted overnight, but results are coming in through Friday afternoon and evening. But so far,the Conservatives have lost control of 16 councils.

The prime minister said it was disappointing to lose Conservative councillors, but added his party was making progress in “key election battlegrounds” like Peterborough, Sandwell and Bassetlaw.

Education Minister Robert Halfon said this year’s election was always “going to be difficult” for his party.

He said internal Tory Party divisions “didn’t help” but claimed the losses were down to external factors, such as the cost-of-living crisis and problems in the NHS.

“Every government during the mid-term, especially a government that has been in power for 13 years, always suffers losses in local elections,” he said.

But he added that Mr Sunak had “restored unity to the party” and “restored stability to the country, particularly in the economy”.

Some Tory MPs were clearly worried about the results, with several telling the BBC’s chief political correspondent Nick Eardley that apathy – Conservative voters staying at home – was also a big problem.

The Electoral Commission has acknowledged challenges with the rollout of the new rules regarding photo ID.

Mr Greenhalgh said he was “half-heartedly” aware of the new rules, but didn’t think about them when heading to the polling station late on Thursday evening.

“A passport isn’t something you carry around with you everywhere you go,” he said, adding that while the staff at the polling station were apologetic, he was “devastated” by the development.

Andre Vince, an NHS worker in West Sussex, was another person unable to vote because of the changes.

He told the BBC he was “incensed” after he was unable to use his NHS ID badge to vote, calling the changes “undemocratic”.

An immunosuppressed woman in Eastleigh, Hampshire, said she was unable to vote because she did not want to risk removing her face mask.

A spokesperson for the local council apologised, but said voters wearing face-coverings were “requested to remove it very briefly so that identification can be verified against their ID documents”.

David Hunter, 77, from East Yorkshire has voted in every UK election – including local, general and referendums – since the 1960s, but chose not to participate in Thursday’s polls in protest against the need for photo ID.

“I didn’t see the problem they were trying to solve – the level of intrusion didn’t merit the solution,” he told the BBC.

“I’m guessing there are other people in my position and it would be interesting to quantify the number of protesting non-voters,” he said.

The requirement was introduced as part of the Elections Act 2022, and requires voters in Great Britain – England, Wales and Scotland – to provide photo ID before voting. It has been in place in Northern Ireland since 2007.

The rules apply to parliamentary and local elections, referendums in England and crime commissioner elections in England and Wales. It also applies to proxy voters.

Valid ID includes passports, driving licences, older or disabled person’s bus passes, and Oyster 60+ cards. Out-of-date ID is permitted as long as the person looks the same.