Why should Labour supporters vote by post?
The Conservative Government has recently passed the Elections Act 2022. This will require voters to produce the correct photographic identification at the polling station. If you are unable to do so, you will not be able to vote.
For more information, see this House of Commons Library briefing here. Voter impersonation is very rare in England. These proposals were described as “total b****ks” by the previous Leader of the Scottish Conservatives. The Electoral Reform Society have set up a petition to ask the government to cancel these proposals.
The Government has made regulations under the Act as to what type of photographic identification is acceptable. Remarkably, the senior bus pass acceptable, but the bus pass for young people is not. See this video here by Angela Rayner MP and deputy leader of the Labour Party.
The Electoral Reform Society believe that the list of acceptable identification for voting purposes is heavily biased in favour of older people.
Bromley Council was a voter ID pilot in the local elections in 2018 even though there had never been any voter impersonation incidents in the borough. The vote in Bromley was affected as voter turnout was down in marginal wards and 154 voters were turned away due to the lack of suitable identification.
Voting by post is not subject to any requirement to produce photographic identification. You do not have to pay to vote by post. You can apply to Bromley Council for a postal vote at www.bromley.gov.uk/elections-voting/voting-elections/2. Alternatively, you can register for a postal vote here https://postalvote.labour.org.uk/.
For a report on voter suppression in Bromley in 2018 see here.
