Achi news desk-
As a general election approaches, there is no better time to talk about the government’s conduct during elections. That’s why I held a Debate in Westminster Hall last week to draw attention to the issues we face.
A lot has happened since the last election in December 2019, we’ve had three prime ministers and faced a global pandemic, but there have also been some significant changes to electoral legislation. As a Liberal Democrat, ensuring that elections are fair and that everyone’s voice is heard is extremely important to me. That is why I think it is worth assessing whether these changes have improved our democratic systems, or whether it could be argued that they are tools for our current government to improve their own situation.
Elections represent the cornerstone of our collective voice as a democratic society, which is why it is essential that every person can vote without barriers. One big hurdle is voter ID. In an urgent question last September, I drew attention to the Electoral Commission report which warned that voter ID disproportionately stops people from voting, particularly disabled people, unemployed people, younger people and people from ethnic minorities. He also reported that voters were more often turned away in deprived areas.
The Local Government Information Unit reported that around 14,000 voters were not given a ballot paper because they could not show an acceptable form of ID, and many more were prevented from voting because of the ID requirement. These are quite alarming figures; thousands of people are turned away at polling stations who would otherwise have voted. This really calls into question the fairness of our elections.
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Lack of trust in politicians, lack of accessibility and feeling unrepresented are some of the factors that can prevent people from voting. It is likely that this lack of trust and the introduction of undesirable policies, such as voter ID, can explain why the number of people registered to vote has fallen. Estimates from Unlock Democracy’s recent report on ‘Registering All Voters’ found that up to 8 million people are missing from the electoral roll. Most of them are in the same demographics that were most affected by the introduction of voter ID. It is so important that everyone is represented in politics, and we need to remove the barriers that prevent people from voting so that representative politicians can be elected.
The responsibility to maintain ethical behavior during elections extends beyond just the political candidates, but to the media and the electorate itself. Although there is immense value in being able to spread important information easily and for people to share their views, we must be careful that incorrect information is not spread. It not only creates divisions and animosity, it can also lead to threats to the safety of MPs. This responsibility for spreading correct information extends to the political parties themselves as well. We have seen a significant increase in spending, particularly by the Conservatives, being used for leaflets and social media campaigns. In the last few weeks there has been a lot of discussion about where the government’s donations came from, especially in relation to their main donor Frank Hester who, despite racist and misogynist comments, has not been ruled out as a future lord and donor further. Large donations understandably affect trust in politicians, and the Liberal Democrats believe that a cap on political donations would actually help improve transparency and accountability. It would also give a wider variety of political voices the opportunity to be heard.
Although I would prefer to see overseas constituencies introduced, I am pleased that the legislation regarding overseas voters means that UK nationals living abroad will now be able to vote, even if they have lived abroad for more than 15 years. Ensuring that overseas voters can participate effectively in UK elections is essential to ensure that the voices of all eligible citizens are heard. However, we still have challenges to address. Local authorities do not have extensive historical electoral registers for example. This means that the number of additional foreign voters and where they will vote is currently only an estimate. The recent boundary changes are meant to equalize the size of constituencies based on the number of people on the electoral roll and new overseas voters will affect this. We need to ensure we have clear and simple ways for overseas voters to cast their ballots.
I hope that in the upcoming election we will see a large proportion of the public turn up to polling stations to vote and that a representative group of MPs will be chosen.
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