A BASINGSTOKE political party has criticised borough councillors for failing to reject plans to make identification for voters mandatory.

Changes in the way elections are conducted have been outlined to councils across the UK. One of the most significant changes is the introduction of voter ID, which will require all electors to produce a form of photo identification - such as a passport, driving licence, immigration document or PASS card - to be eligible to vote.

The change would be brought in at polling stations from 2023.

At a recent meeting of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, Cllr Andrew McCormick, the leader of the Labour group, introduced a motion calling for the authority to withdraw from the proposals. The motion was lost by 24 votes to 23.

READ MORE: Calls for council to withdraw from proposals for mandatory voter ID at polling stations

Now, the Women’s Equality party in Basingstoke has said that the council’s decision is ‘utterly shameful'.

Stacy Hart, Women’s Equality election candidate for Hatch Warren and Beggarwood, said: “Voter ID is unnecessary. It is a tool the government is using to disenfranchise voters and undemocratically consolidate their power.

“It will disproportionately affect women, lower-paid and unemployed people and minorities, and introduces unjustifiable financial and bureaucratic barriers which undermine our voting rights.

“The so-called reasoning for voter ID is to prevent voter fraud, but the government's own data proves how rare this is. In the 2019 general election, there were only 33 allegations of voter impersonation - out of 58 million votes!

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“Voter ID is expected to cost £180 million a decade, at a time where costs are rising and our local area desperately needs investment in education, health and care, infrastructure and housing.

“It's utterly shameful that Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council is diverting much needed funding to enforce a policy that further disenfranchises women and marginalised communities."

Opposition to voter ID has brought together a wide coalition, from homeless charities, groups representing elderly people and LGBT+ campaigners, to democratic organisations such as the Electoral Reform Society; each concerned that these proposals could shut out millions of legitimate voters from the ballot box.