Representation of the People

Rushanara Ali Excerpts

Wednesday 13th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Rushanara Ali)]

I beg to move,

That the draft Voter Identification (Amendment of List of Specified Documents) Regulations 2024, which were laid before this House on 15 October, be approved.

The Elections Act 2022 amended the parliamentary election laws set out in schedule 1 to the Representation of the People Act 1983, setting out the requirement for voters to show photographic identification when voting in person in a polling station in Great Britain. The list of accepted forms of photographic ID is set out in rule 37 of schedule 1 and includes passports; driving licences; various concessionary travelcards; identity cards bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram, such as the Young Scot card, or the National Union of Students TOTUM card; blue badges; and the defence identity card.

As set out in our manifesto, the Government are committed to improving how voter ID works by addressing inconsistencies and ensuring that legitimate electors are able to vote. We are carefully and thoroughly reviewing the voter ID rules and evaluating how they impacted citizens during the general election. Work is already under way on that evaluation, using data gathered at polling stations, along with public opinion surveys and qualitative research involving electors and the electoral sector.

The Electoral Commission has also conducted a thorough review of the 2024 general election. It published an interim report on voter ID in September, and a final report on the wider conduct of the polls just today. We will of course carefully consider the commission’s findings and recommendations as part of our own review of the voter identification policy, and we will respond formally to both the commission’s reports in the new year. If we find that changes are necessary or appropriate, we will bring forward further proposals on the wider voter ID policy in due course. I do not wish to speculate today on what those might be, but I will of course keep the House informed on the outcomes of our work.

However, there is a clear gap in the existing provisions, which we can and should address now: the absence of His Majesty’s armed forces veteran card from the accepted voter ID list. That is why we made the card’s inclusion in that list a manifesto commitment. The veteran card recognises our veterans’ service and dedication to our country, and the proposed change is just one of the things that the Government are doing to honour their contribution. We should not allow the need for fuller consideration of the policy in the round to stop us making a necessary change that will support veterans to exercise their democratic rights. Opposition Members were supportive of this change when in government, and I hope that consensus remains.

This instrument makes changes to the current legislation, which sets out the accepted forms of voter ID, and will result in the veteran card being added to the list of accepted forms of ID for the purposes of voting in Great Britain. That will mean that holders of the veteran card can use it to prove their identity when voting in person in polling stations in all elections from May 2025 onwards. The veteran card was fully launched in January this year and is now available free of charge to all veterans. Adding the veteran card to the list, alongside the already accepted defence identity card, will bring parity between veterans and serving armed services personnel when voting.

The regulations make two further small changes, introducing technical clarifications to support the smooth and consistent application of the law. The need for them was highlighted by electoral administrators who are operating the policy in practice. First, the regulations provide clarification regarding the entry in rule 37 relating to Commonwealth passports by updating it to refer to the list of Commonwealth countries in the British Nationality Act 1981. That will make the voter ID legislation consistent with electoral registration legislation. In particular, it will allow Zimbabwean passports to be used as identification at polling stations from May 2025.

Secondly, the regulations vary the entry relating to the Scottish national entitlement card. As currently drafted, the legislation lists that document under the section referring to concessionary travel passes. The regulations will amend the legislation so that the card, which can be used for a number of purposes, is listed elsewhere, and make it clear that those cards issued for non-travel purposes should also be accepted.

Finally, the regulations contain updated prescribed forms of the poll cards sent out to electors ahead of an election. That is to update the provisions giving electors guidance on the voter identification policy, to reflect the changes I have set out.

Implementing our manifesto commitment to add the veteran card to the list of accepted identification for voting is an important first step in a much broader programme of work to open up participation in our democracy. The Government were elected on a manifesto for change, and alongside our commitment to review and amend the voter ID rules, we have an ambitious and exciting programme to strengthen and widen our vibrant democracy. That includes introducing votes for 16 and 17-year-olds in all elections, improving voter registration and strengthening our political finance framework to protect against foreign interference in our elections.

Here and now, the addition of the veteran card supports an important community in engaging in elections and exercising their democratic rights. I thank all those who have campaigned to make this change a reality, and I hope hon. Members will join me in supporting these measures.

--- Later in debate ---

[Rushanara Ali]

I am grateful to hon. Members for their excellent contributions, and to the shadow Minister for his contribution. This is the first of what I hope will be a number of debates on this important agenda. I will not be able to give an exhaustive response to all the contributions made today, but I look forward to meeting hon. Members to follow up on specific points, and I thank them for their work in the previous Parliament on this agenda.

I will speak to some of the points that have been made. The shadow Minister raised issues around the wider policy and what we will do. He will be aware that today’s measure is a really important part of the work we are doing. I am proud to say that my party is taking action to ensure that veterans can exercise their democratic rights, and I am grateful to colleagues for their work on that. On the points around evaluations of the 2024 general election, as I said, we will look carefully at the proposals in the previous Electoral Commission report and the one published today, and establish what action needs to be taken. We are undertaking a strategic review of electoral registration, conduct and funding processes, looking at the biggest challenges and pain points in the system, and working in partnership with the elections sector to understand how to address the challenges in a practical and pragmatic manner. I recently met the head of the Electoral Commission.

The shadow Minister mentioned raising awareness. The Electoral Commission has an important, positive role in raising awareness among not only veterans but other electors, such as young people, and in supporting the needs of other groups who have traditionally been excluded. We look forward to working with it closely on this very important agenda.

[Marsha De Cordova (Battersea) (Lab)]

The Minister is making an excellent point about broadening this out—veterans are a great first step—to other groups, in particular those who are disabled, or blind and partially sighted. One of the crucial challenges they face is being able to vote independently and in secret, as well as that of having access to the right ID. Will she take that point away and ensure that in further conversations, she focuses on enabling those living with sight loss to vote independently and in secret?

[Rushanara Ali]

I thank my hon. Friend for her contribution; she is a powerful advocate on this agenda. I am incredibly proud of the work she has done to raise awareness, and I look forward to working with her and others to make sure that voters are not excluded, in particular voters with a visual impairment or other disabilities.

We will look carefully at the commission’s findings and recommendations in both the reports that have been published and provide a formal response to both.

On the wider points about the evaluation of the introduction of voter ID at UK elections, Members will be aware that the Elections Act 2022 includes a requirement for the Secretary of State to publish an evaluation of the impact of the implementation of the voter ID policy on the next local elections and the next two UK parliamentary elections. We have contracted IFF Research, an independent research organisation, to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the 2024 general election. In light of the points that have been made about the ID schemes used in the elections, it is critical that we look at the evidence base and identify what further action needs to be taken. I look forward to working with colleagues as that evidence comes through.

The hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister) made a point about Northern Ireland. It is critical that we respect the way elections are run in Northern Ireland, and that we recognise the differences between the procedures in Northern Ireland and Great Britain. There has been a requirement, as he highlighted, to show voter ID in Northern Ireland since 2002. There are also differences in the lists of accepted documents. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland intends to bring forward legislation to add the veteran card to the list of ID documents that may be used in Northern Ireland’s polling stations in advance of its next elections, scheduled to be held in 2027.

A number of points were made about the impact of voter ID on 16 and 17-year-olds. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi) for her work as a Front-Bench spokesperson on these important issues. As part of our commitment to expand the voter franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds, we will need to consider whether the identification requirements may be more difficult for younger voters to meet. Some of those concerns have been highlighted today. It is crucial that there are no barriers to the enfranchisement we want to see. We look forward to understanding better what is different about the needs of that younger demographic, in terms of patterns of ownership of identity documents. We are considering that as part of our work towards expanding the franchise. Once again, I look forward to hearing from colleagues about their experiences as they discuss this important change with young people in their constituencies. I will be doing the same in mine.

My hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Marsha De Cordova) and others raised accessibility, in particular the support needed for disabled voters. We are committed to supporting returning officers to ensure that disabled people can participate in elections. We continue to work closely with organisations that represent disabled people and the elections sector to support them to take part in the democratic process. Importantly, the blue badge and the disabled person’s bus pass are already in place, but we will of course consider whether more can be done to support those electors, because it cannot be right that they are excluded in any way.

[Marsha De Cordova]

Forgive me for expanding on this issue slightly, but does my hon. Friend agree that we should consider other methods of voting? To be accessible, voting could be done digitally.

[Rushanara Ali]

That is a very important point. I do not want to pre-empt what we will do in the future, but I look forward greatly to my hon. Friend’s providing input as we conduct the review, and I encourage other colleagues to do the same. This is a very important agenda, and it is a big opportunity for parliamentarians and others to contribute to the proposals that we will consider and present.

A number of points were made about additional documents, and we will look at those during our review. I have mentioned young people in particular.

My hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green, the newly elected Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, raised a number of important points. I will not go through them all, but I look forward to meeting her and others to pursue the agenda further. She referred to the current strategy and policy statement; it does not reflect the Government’s priorities, so we will not be leaving it in place.

My hon. Friend also spoke about changes ahead of May 2025. It is important for any proposals for electoral changes to be properly considered and for any change in the list of accepted ID to be based on sound data. It is right that electors have certainty and clarity about what is accepted, and that electoral administrators are fully able to take account of any changes. Accordingly, we will not introduce further changes for May 2025. We are taking our time to get this right, and we will ensure that any further changes are clear and fully considered. At this point, we are not committed to a specific timeframe.

My hon. Friend the Member for Reading Central (Matt Rodda) mentioned the role and contribution of British Gurkhas. We are all incredibly grateful for their contribution, and that is partly why this agenda is so important.

Let me say something about the wider work that the Government are doing to support veterans. The Minister for Veterans and People is working with veterans groups and armed forces charities, as well as public bodies, to promote the accessibility and availability of the support for them. That support ranges from housing and skills to mental health provision, as well as help for those who want to stand for public office. I am delighted to see a number of colleagues on both sides of the House who have come to our Parliament from the armed services; they have made some powerful contributions, including their speeches in this debate.

Our work on voter ID for veterans is very much part of this agenda. The Veterans Minister will be working closely with me to ensure that we widen both accessibility and awareness through those networks. This statutory instrument is part of the Labour Government’s work to support veterans, not only in terms of democratic participation but in respect of the wider support that they need, in recognition of the contribution that they have made to our country and our security through their service in the armed forces. There is also the wider commitment that the Government have made in putting the armed forces covenant fully into law.

We are all justifiably proud of our long history of democracy, but we should never take it for granted. The addition of the veteran card to the list of documents accepted as identification at the polling station will help this important community to engage in the electoral process and exercise their democratic rights. I hope Members will agree that the regulations provide for some important changes to our electoral rules, strengthening, widening and securing our democracy into the future, and I hope they will join me in supporting the veteran community. I am grateful for their contributions to the debate, and I am incredibly proud of the fact that it is this Government who have introduced these changes. I commend the regulations to the House.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That the draft Voter Identification (Amendment of List of Specified Documents) Regulations 2024, which were laid before this House on 15 October, be approved.