The Tories’ voter ID rules are anti-democratic. Labour must scrap them

‘As the allowed forms of ID were skewed towards older voters, this further disfranchised younger voters.’ Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA

The news that voter ID rules may have stopped 400,000 taking part in the general election (Report, 8 July) shows that fears that the Tories’ electoral reforms would damage democracy were well founded. The Johnson administration introduced extreme photo ID requirements, stripped the Electoral Commission of its independence and designed electoral boundaries around a register missing millions of eligible citizens. Our system saw democratic backsliding.

The new government could begin to build a more inclusive democracy. It could repeal parts of the Elections Act, consolidate electoral law and introduce new innovations such as automatic voter registration. A new Representation of the People Act to strengthen elections for the 21st century is needed. The Electoral Integrity Project has a blueprint for reforms that were proposed by academics and civil society groups in the last parliament. There is now an opportunity to take them forward.
Prof Toby S James
University of East Anglia; co-director, Electoral Integrity Project