Labour draw up plan to stop people falling off the electoral register

Labour have drawn up plans for the party’s council groups to fight the effects of the Government’s plans to rush through Individual Electoral Registration (IER).

Gloria De Piero, the new Shadow Cabinet member with responsibility for voter registration, deputy leader Tom Watson, and leader of Oldham council Jim McMahon have sent out a letter to the leader of every Labour group, outlining the risks of the policy and what they can do to help fight it. The letter states that the speeding up of the IER process by a year could potentially lead to millions dropping off the electoral roll and losing their right to vote.

As well as the letter, which you can read in full below, they have sent out a list of 13 steps councils should take during the transition to IER (which you can read in full here) and a proposed council motion on the topic (which you can read here).

There are concerns that those who fall off the electoral register are those already to be disengaged from politics, particularly young people and low earners, and this would be another barrier in trying to get people involved. There are also rumblings about why the Conservatives have chosen to speed up the process, with the likely loss of voters expected to hit Labour’s support more.

You can read the full letter De Piero, Watson and McMahon have sent out here:

Dear Labour group leader,

Thank you for all the work you do, day in, day out, representing Labour by working hard for our community. 

We are writing to you to regarding the ongoing transition to Individual Electoral Registration (IER), and to ask you to take urgent action before 1st December 2015. The Government have ignored the independent advice from the Electoral Commission to wait until December 2016 to end the transition period to IER, and chosen to bring the date forward by a year.

The government’s insistence on speeding up the process of IER risks millions of voters dropping off the electoral register. Private renters, young people, students and people not born in the UK are likely to be disproportionately affected. If urgent action is not taken, many people in our communities will not be able to exercise their democratic right to vote. Furthermore, upcoming boundary changes will be decided on the basis of the electoral register as it stands on 1st December 2015. An incomplete register will result in unfair boundaries and undermine parliamentary democracy.

There are many actions you can take to help mitigate the disastrous effects of these changes whether or not Labour holds power on your council: 

– Meet with the Chief Executive of your council, in their capacity as Electoral Registration Officer, to discuss the steps your council is taking to make registration a top priority and to work with the unmatched electors. Use the enclosed guidelines on what councils can do to help.

– Bring the enclosed model motion to your next council meeting. This motion seeks to highlight the scale of the challenge IER poses and encourages the authority to take them seriously.

We are aware that this comes at a time of significant financial constraints but we know that you will want to do everything in your power to protect the right to vote for everyone in your area and ensure that the forthcoming boundary changes are based on an accurate and complete register.

We look forward to working together in the coming weeks to make this happen. Don’t hesitate to contact Gloria who is leading our work on voter registration on 0207 219 7004 if you have any questions and we’d love to hear about what you are doing on IER so we can spread best practice.

Best wishes,

Tom Watson MP

Gloria De Piero MP 

Jim McMahon