(HorizonPost.com) – Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was briefly turned away from the polls during last Thursday’s local elections after he forgot to bring a photo ID, a voting requirement first introduced in the UK by the former PM’s government.
Johnson was turned away by poll workers when trying to cast his ballot in South Oxfordshire but he later returned with the correct form of ID and was able to vote.
The photo ID rule was included in the Elections Act 2022 which was introduced by the former prime minister’s Conservative government. Widely criticized at the time it was introduced, the UK Electoral Commission in 2023 warned that unemployed voters and ethnic minorities would be hardest hit.
A March report by some members of Parliament warned that the new electoral registration system in the UK could disenfranchise millions of voters. The report claimed that the photo ID requirement would prevent individuals without the correct form of identification from voting in the upcoming elections since the requirement limits the type of photo ID permitted.
British army vet Adam Diver was also turned away from the polls last week after poll workers told him that his veteran’s identification card was not a valid form of ID.
Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer explained that the legislation that determines the forms of ID permitted was established before the veterans ID cards came out in January. He said he would “do all I can” to change that before the next election.
The governing Conservative Party suffered significant losses in last week’s elections, which were for more than 100 local councils and several mayoral races, suggesting that the polls that show Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s party could face a blistering in the upcoming parliamentary elections could be correct.
At the same time, last Thursday’s results were not a win for the Labour Party, with the Reform UK Party benefiting from the Tories’ poor performance.
It remains unclear when the next parliamentary elections will take place. Prime Minister Sunak has until December 17 to call for an election.
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