Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Cat Smith Excerpts
Wednesday 23rd October 2019

(4 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Cat Smith Portrait Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)
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We seem to be importing a lot from across the pond. If it is not Trumpian trade deals weakening workers’ protections and opening our NHS to further privatisation, it is repressive voter ID laws that are well used by right-wing Republicans as an act of voter suppression. Is the Minister ashamed to be part of a Government who are learning lessons from the US Republican party on voter suppression? How many convictions have there been for in-person voter fraud in the last year?

Oliver Dowden Portrait Oliver Dowden
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We are not following the example of the United States; we are following the example set by the last Labour Government, who introduced photographic voter identification in 2003, and it had no discernible impact on turnout.