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The Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP

MP for North Shropshire

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Voter ID

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The British public deserves to have confidence in our democracy, and the clear potential for electoral fraud in our system risks undermining that confidence. Voter ID was first introduced in Northern Ireland in 1985, following evidence of a spike in electoral malpractice.  There is little evidence that this has presented any difficulties for people in terms of accessibility. In Northern Ireland it is widely regarded as a success.  The Cabinet Office assessed that Bromley, Gosport, Swindon, Watford and Woking delivered successful voter ID pilots in England in 2018.  

I appreciate your concerns over people being turned away at polling stations, but I hope you are reassured by the evidence which shows the majority of voters who turned up to vote without identification returned later with their documents without problem. I am also pleased that polling station staff overwhelmingly judged that they had been able to successfully deliver the ID requirements in their polling stations. I agree on the need to ensure people are able to vote freely in our elections, which is why it was important that locally issued ID was made available free of charge whenever an elector was unsure if they could produce identification.
 
The independent Electoral Commission has published its own review of the voter ID pilot schemes. The Commission shares the view of the Cabinet Office that the pilots worked well overall; it is encouraging that their main recommendation was for the Government to encourage a wider range of local councils to run pilot schemes in the May local elections.  
 
A diverse range of ten local authorities took part in Voter ID and postal vote pilots for the 2019 local elections. The Electoral Commission's evaluation of the May pilots found that the voter ID requirement had a positive impact on people's perceptions of the security of the polling station process. The Cabinet Office evaluation also reported strong levels of confidence in participating local authorities that there were sufficient safeguards to prevent electoral fraud.
 
I look forward to seeing how ministers will consider this evidence in their decisions for national rollout of the programme. 
 
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
 

Campaign Responses

  • Asylum accommodation 22/02/2021
  • Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill 22/02/2021
  • Dementia and Coronavirus 08/02/21
  • Neonicotinoids 05/02/21
  • FFP3 Masks 02/02/21
  • Trade Deals 19/1/21
  • CAMRA Save Our Pubs Campaign
  • Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffee and Anoosheh Ashoori
  • Coronavirus: Closed Churches
  • Planning Reform
  • British Heart Foundation and Medical Research Charities
  • Free School Meals 27/10/2020
  • Immigration Bill: Family Reunion
  • Women and Equal Pay
  • MPs' Pay
  • Shelter's 'Building Our Way Out' Report
  • Immigration Detention Time Limit
  • Coronavirus: Maternity Care
  • 'Fire and Rehire' Tactics
  • Agriculture Bill: Animal Welfare and Trade
  • Breast Cancer
  • Coronavirus: Disabled Welfare
  • EU Negotiations
  • Coronavirus: Household Debt
  • Asylum Seekers Support and Employment
  • NHS Pay Rise
  • Global Wildlife Trade Ban
  • Protecting Girls in Crisis
  • Extension of Covid-19 Support Schemes
  • Fuel Duty
  • Medical Cannabis: Epilepsy
  • Proportional Property Tax Proposal
  • Israel: Peace Agreements
  • Coronavirus: Public Test and Trace
  • Air Quality
  • Pet Microchipping
  • Green Recovery
  • Pancreatic Cancer's No Time to Wait Campaign
  • Children's Health
  • Overseas Operations Bill
  • Asylum Support Payments
  • Internal Market Bill
  • Coronavirus: Vulnerable Christians
  • Wellbeing and Counselling in Schools
  • Disposable BBQs
  • Domestic Abuse Bill
  • Coronavirus: Ovarian Cancer
  • General Practice
  • Humanist Marriages
  • Adult Social Care
  • Sustainable Fishing - Super Trawlers
  • Coronavirus: Mental Health
  • Arthritis
  • Investor-State Dispute Settlement Mechanisms
  • Eco-Friendly Education Buildings
  • Legal Aid
  • Wildlife Licensing
  • Trade Deals
  • Persecution of Christians
  • Coronavirus: Travel Industry
  • Heat Pumps
  • Yemen
  • Low Income Countries: Debt Cancellation
  • EDM 529
  • Rough Sleeping
  • Coronavirus: Performing Arts
  • Black Curriculum
  • Coronavirus: Clinically Vulnerable Returning to Work
  • British Food Production Standards
  • FCO and DfID Merger
  • Mental Health: Face to Face Assessments
  • Coronavirus: Government backing for business
  • George Floyd, Black Lives Matter and export controls
  • Immigration Bill
  • Radiotherapy Services
  • PPE: Health and Social Care
  • Road Speed Limits
  • Fur Free Britain Campaign
  • Coronavirus: Asylum Support Payments
  • Israel the West Bank
  • 'No Recourse to Public Funds' Campaign
  • Trade Bill - US Free Trade Agreement
  • Illegal Wildlife Trade - EDM139
  • Trophy Hunting - EDM50
  • Environment Bill: OEP
  • Coronavirus: Free School Meals
  • Coronavirus: Trussell Trust's Proposed Emergency Income Support Scheme
  • Coronavirus: Abortion
  • Coronavirus: Childcare and Childminders
  • Environment Bill: Air Quality
  • Windrush Report
  • Universities and Antisemitism
  • Immigration Points System
  • EDM57 - Regulation of Social Networks
  • Coronavirus: Motor Nurone Disease
  • Horseracing: use of the whip
  • EDM 291 - Ban on war experiments on animals
  • Coronavirus: Iran Sanctions
  • Dementia Care
  • Agriculture Bill: Animal Welfare and Food Safety
  • Northern Ireland Abortion Framework
  • Animal Cruelty Sentencing
  • Gamebird Welfare
  • My letter to constituents regarding Government financial support for airlines
  • Voter ID
  • Brexit update 10th October 2019
  • 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration
  • Adults with eating disorders
  • Cycling and Walking
  • TV licence for over-75s
  • "People's Vote"
  • Arms to Saudi Arabia
  • Tax Cuts
  • Affordable Housing
  • Earthquakes and Fracking
  • Probate Fees
  • My letter to Constituents regarding the suspension of Parliament
  • Consumer Credit and "rip off loans"
  • Trafficked children
  • Trophy Hunting
  • Immigration Bill and the NHS
  • NHS Long Term Plan
  • Puppy Smuggling
  • Assisted Dying event 11th December
  • Caging of pheasants and partridges
  • Beer Duty
  • Sex-selective abortion
  • Dying at Home
  • Rohingya Children
  • Footpaths
  • BBC impartiality
  • Defend Israel
  • Ban Al Quds and Hezbollah
  • Stand Up for Nature
  • Communities vs Blood Cancer
  • Homelessness
  • Horses on the road
  • Horse tethering
  • Fracking
  • Offensive Weapons Bill and shop workers
  • Royal Commission on Policing
  • FIxed Odds Betting Terminals
  • DVLA and diabetes monitoring technology
  • Future trade deals
  • Housing Regulator
  • Stop Christophobia campaign 21/05/19
  • The Abuse of Children and Civilians by Hamas
  • Live Exports
  • Cost of Medicines
  • Plastic pollution in UK rivers
  • Eating disorders
  • Forced abortion
  • Cancer Treatment - Coronavirus

Owen Paterson MP MP for North Shropshire

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