Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the integrity of elections carried out without the requirement for photographic voter identification.

Legitimate electors should not be prevented from voting and we are committed to ensuring that everyone eligible is able and encouraged to do so. We believe it is appropriate to retain the requirement to show ID to protect our electors from the risk of personation, but the current rules are too restrictive.

Allowing the use of UK issued bank cards will improve the policy by increasing accessibility and ease for legitimate electors to prove their identity, while maintaining a proportionate and secure ID check. UK banks conduct a range of rigorous identity verification and anti-money laundering processes before opening bank accounts for their clients and issuing bank cards.