Oral Answers to Questions

Richard Thomson Excerpts

Thursday 28th October 2021 Commons Chamber

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

3. What recent assessment the Committee has made of the potential effect of the proposal in the Elections Bill to introduce voter ID on electoral participation.

[Richard Thomson (Gordon) (SNP)]

7. What recent assessment the Committee has made of the potential effect of the proposal in the Elections Bill to introduce voter ID on electoral participation.

[Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)]

9. What recent assessment the Committee has made of the potential effect of the proposal in the Elections Bill to introduce voter ID on electoral participation.

--- Later in debate ---

[Cat Smith]

The proportion of people without ID is higher among certain demographic groups, including those with disabilities. Research published by the Cabinet Office in May 2021 found that 96% of the public held some form of photo ID that respondents thought was recognisable, including ID that had expired. The commission has provided independent advice to parliamentarians on how the measures in the Elections Bill would affect the accessibility of the electoral process, and it will continue to highlight changes in the electoral system that could support increased participation—for example, better use of existing public data to modernise the electoral registration system.

[Richard Thomson]

Given the scant evidence of electoral fraud by members of the public trying to cast votes to which they are not entitled, do the commissioners share my concern that attempting to introduce voter ID is an attempt to solve a problem which, in reality, simply does not exist?

[Cat Smith]

The commission has made no detailed assessment of the number of fraudulent votes that could be prevented as a result of the Government’s proposed policy to introduce a voter ID requirement. While levels of reported electoral fraud in the UK are consistently low, they do vary, and there is no reliable methodology for forecasting instances of electoral fraud. The commission has highlighted the lack of an ID requirement as a vulnerability in polling stations across Great Britain, and public opinion research shows that this is an issue that concerns voters.