Only 10 weeks to save democracy from shameful Tory bid to rig the voting system

The Government has ignored the Electoral Commission's advice and is rushing through changes which could disenfranchise up to 10million people

On July 16, in the dying days of the last parliamentary term, Tory Minister for Parliamentary Reform John Penrose tabled a written statement that went largely unnoticed.
Against the advice of the Government’s official body on electoral matters, it made a change to the Electoral Registration and Administration Act.
Since 2013, the Government has been in the process of changing the voter registration system. The order tabled by Penrose sped up the timetable by a year. This means the change from household survey to Individual Electoral Registration – or IER – must now be completed in just three months time.
So in December, people whose identity as genuine voters hasn’t already been confirmed will be removed from the electoral register.
Today, new figures from HOPE not Hate reveal this could be as many as 1.9 million unconfirmed voters.

With an estimated eight million people already missing from a shockingly incomplete electoral register, this would bring the total number of disenfranchised voters to almost 10 million.

In other words, in the year of the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, which enshrined the roots of British democracy, the Government stands to preside over the biggest disenfranchisement ever seen in our nation’s history.
The number of Missing Britons is the equivalent of losing the entire population of London, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow and Sheffield combined from the electoral roll.
They come from vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. People in urban areas, in rented accommodation, from deprived communities, some ethnic minorities and areas with traditionally low voter turnout will be the worst affected. The other worst-affected group will be students.
Even worse, the new register will form the basis of boundary changes that will rig the electoral system for generations to come.
No wonder the Tory Party wants the register locked down quickly so that boundary changes can happen in time for the 2020 General Election.
At which point some commentators believe Labour could lose around 30 seats – the equivalent of losing almost half of its Scottish seats again.
Certainly, fewer inner-city seats will favour the Conservatives.


Andy Commins / Daily Mirror
Registration: The Mirror #NoVoteNoVoice Bus in Newcastle
“Originally there was another year to get all these people verified,” says Nick Lowles, director of HOPE not Hate.
“Instead we are about to see the greatest disenfranchisement in British history.
“The scale of it is almost inconceivable. And it will get worse in the next few days as students return to university and have to register individually.”
HOPE not Hate is concerned that people who are disenfranchised are more vulnerable to extremism.
Its report reveals that London and Scotland will be worst affected, but cities like Birmingham also stand to lose 7.7% of their electorate and Cambridge 17 %.
Compare the drop-off in John Penrose’s constituency of Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, where voters tend to be older and move around less – 2.18% – with a transient population of mainly renters like the London borough Hackney, set to lose 23% of its electors.
It is a year since HOPE not Hate, the Daily Mirror, Unite the Union and other groups launched the #NoVoteNoVoice campaign – tracking down Britain’s unregistered millions.
In the run-up to the election, our campaigners reached millions of people. But now millions more stand to be excluded.
The democratic deficit will affect the London mayoral election and polls in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland next year. It will affect the EU referendum. It also affects the make-up of our juries, as only people on the electoral register get called for jury service.
But its most permanent impact will be on boundary changes.
The Boundary Commission is due to begin work in April to implement government plans to reduce the roll of MPs from 650 to 600. It will use the electoral register as the basis for the changes.
Katie Ghose, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, says: “Coupled with the overall reduction of MPs from 650 to 600, this leads to an absurd situation where there will be fewer MPs for the areas of greatest need.”


Rex
Rigged game: Lucy Powell MP says Labour will work with other parties to opose the plan
The Cabinet Office has declared IER a success, and says it is clearing up “ghost voters” who are appearing on the register.
“We need to remove up to two million entries on the electoral registers which are inaccurate or out of date,” it says.
But its own advisory body, the Electoral Commission , takes a different view.
It says: “Taking into account the data and evidence available to us at this point, and the significant polls scheduled for May 2016, we recommend that Ministers should not make an order to bring forward the end of the transition to IER.”
There is now a very brief window until November 20 to annul the amendment – 40 sitting days from July 16.
With time running out, the Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake has put down a “rejection motion” to strike out Penrose’s order.
He says: “It’s very hard not to believe there’s some political motivation behind it because the people most likely to be affected are probably not Conservative supporters.”
Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Office Minister, Lucy Powell MP, says the party will work with the Lib Dems, and is also planning other measures including an Opposition Day debate.
“The Tories are clearly trying to rig the system,” she says. “We need to fight to stop this huge number of people being disenfranchised.”
Nick Lowles puts it another way. “There are just 10 weeks left to save democracy,” he says.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/only-10-weeks-save-democracy-6406898#ICID=sharebar_twitter

How the hell did that slide under the radar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hilarious ha ha ha

Best they get themselves registered then.

Great you take loss of democracy so flippantly.  And people will not realise they are not registered.  For example, I always filled in the form for both of us.  Now each one has to do it.  How many people know that?  How much has it been publicised?  It hasn't.  If you have children over 18 in your house, they have to register themselves, you can't do it for them as 'head of the household' any more.

There is no loss of democracy at all.
This is about people who have not registered.
That is their own failing.
You look to blame the government for that.
PMSL
Do you want them to wipe your arse next?

If you change the rules on something as important as registering to vote, you have a duty to make sure people know about it.  If people don't know, they can't act.  This government has made sure that they have not given the information fully, publicised it properly and made sure the electorate knew about it.  That is their responsiblity.

Again who's fault is it if people have not registered?
Themselves.
I think its hilarious and where 10 million have not might give you an indication how many do not give a shit about it.
You are telling people do not know they can vote?

ha ha ha

How little you realise how people do not care about voting.

Don't be a dipstick, THEY HAD REGISTERED UNDER THE OLD SYSTEM.  The Government changed the rules, the people don't know about the change.  DOH

Hilarious, so they had registered under the old system Stassi claims of course and fail to know they have to change where millions of other shave?


PMSL again

That is their failing again.

Again I think its hilarious and lets face some home truths, do you really think many of these are Labour supporters?
If this is so important, then why have not countless MP's rallied to get this noticed?
mainly because its a load of bollocks and that millions do not care about politics

Behave, you live a pipe dream

You obviously don't have your brain in gear and are opposing for opposings sake, rather than actually thinking about it, so I will leave you to mutter to yourself.

sassy wrote:You obviously don't have your brain in gear and are opposing for opposings sake, rather than actually thinking about it, so I will leave you to mutter to yourself.

The usual copout reply from the left wing extremism dummy ha ha ha

Seriously your intelligence is on a par with the Dutchmans, its that stupid

Anyone of your family's last registration a form that had the household on and one person signed it and sent it back?  Well guess what, they could be some of the people disenfranchised without knowing it.

Even funnier ha ha ha ha ha

well best that people keep up with things then

and besides of course it will be the lefties that squirm about this.....becasue its their voters that are too ermmmm...slow ...to keep up.....

victorismyhero wrote:well best that people keep up with things then

and besides of course it will be the lefties that squirm about this.....becasue its their voters that are too ermmmm...slow ...to keep up.....

Well, never thought I would see the day when you would stand up for the Government deliberately setting out to confuse people into losing their right to vote.  The fact that you have is somewhat sad.

I fail to see how its confusing...its really very simple.....if you have the right to vote...then register...stop expecting people to carry you ....

sassy wrote:Don't be a dipstick, THEY HAD REGISTERED UNDER THE OLD SYSTEM.  The Government changed the rules, the people don't know about the change.  DOH

actually i wasn't aware of this change of rule. thank you sassy. by the next election all my kids will be able to vote so i best get them and myself cracking on this. is there a link to do it online at all?

thanks for the heads up on this one

gelico again wrote:

sassy wrote:Don't be a dipstick, THEY HAD REGISTERED UNDER THE OLD SYSTEM.  The Government changed the rules, the people don't know about the change.  DOH

actually i wasn't aware of this change of rule.  thank you sassy.  by the next election all my kids will be able to vote so i best get them and myself cracking on this.  is there a link to do it online at all?

thanks for the heads up on this one

Hi Geli, as you now have to register individually, you need your national insurance number to do it.  The link is https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote same as it was before, but the system has now been updated to an individual basis.

sassy wrote:

gelico again wrote:

actually i wasn't aware of this change of rule.  thank you sassy.  by the next election all my kids will be able to vote so i best get them and myself cracking on this.  is there a link to do it online at all?

thanks for the heads up on this one

Hi Geli, as you now have to register individually, you need your national insurance number to do it.  The link is https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote same as it was before, but the system has now been updated to an individual basis.

Have 16 year olds always been on the register?

sassy's signature is interesting , one of the Kray twins became a Christian praise the Lord there is hope for everyone