The former Conservative minister, Jacob Reese-Mogg, has
implied that the Tory government introduced photo voter ID in political
elections to boost their election chances. Although he was responsible for
introducing this measure as Commons leader, which the government said was
necessary to counter voter fraud, Reese-Mogg, told a conference of
Conservatives in London, that there was "no evidence that personation (the crime of voter fraud) was a serious
problem." He added, "There
have been hardly any prosecutions or even any complaints in this country over
decades."
Although around 11 million people in this country do not
possess a driving license or a passport, photo ID became necessary for the
first time in elections, on 4 May. For those who didn't possess the required
photo ID, the government introduced a 'Voter Authority Certificate' (VAC), that
could be obtained from their local authority to vote in the May 2023 local
elections.
In February, The Observer newspaper, reported that fewer than
21,000 people out of an estimated 2 million people who required a VAC to vote
in the elections had applied for them. Only 505 people aged over 75 had applied
and fewer than 6% of applicants were aged under 25. Reese-Mogg told the
conference that the change had backfired and "had upset a system that worked perfectly well" and had "made it hard for our own voters" to
take part in England's local elections. He said, "We found the people who didn't have ID were elderly and they by and
large voted Conservative so we made it hard for our own voters..."
Although critics denounced the governments photo voter ID
scheme as 'gerrymandering' aimed at giving them an electoral advantage, the
Conservatives lost more than a 1,000 councillors and control of 48 councils,
with Labour, the Lib Dems and Greens, all making gains at the expense of Rishi
Sunak's party.
Many months ago, I wrote to Downing Street, asking a number
of questions about why the government had introduced the voter ID scheme in
elections, when voter fraud was almost non-existent. I also asked them how they
responded to the charge of critics that they were trying to rig elections in
their favour. I'm still waiting for a reply. I don't normally vote in political
elections because I haven't much faith in self-serving politicians who are in
the pockets of the money men, or a political system that bows and scrapes to
them, but in May, I decided to give it a go for research purposes, to see how
the system worked. As a pensioner, who would never vote Tory, nor voted for
Brexit, I didn't have a problem. I simply produced my age related free bus pass
as evidence of my ID which was accepted along with my polling card. The staff
at the polling station told me that they had not had any unpleasant incidents
or problems with voter ID.
Britain is essentially a two-party political state with
Labour and the Conservatives being the dominant political parties. Whichever
political party gets into power; they always try to change the voting system to
give themselves an electoral advantage. However, why the Tories would want to
rig a political system that already favours them, is intriguing. In the last
123 years, the Labour Party have held power for just 33 years. For two thirds
of the 20th century, the Conservatives were in government and in control of
Britain. What does that tell you about the British people and its political
system? What it tells me, is that whoever you vote for, capitalists like Jacob
Reese-Mogg always get in, even if they don't stand in elections, and nothing
much changes. With Keir Starmer's Tory-lite Labour Party, choosing which party
to vote for, is a bit like choosing between Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
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