Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Elections Act 2022: May 2023 Local Elections

Monday 5 June 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Department assessed the impact of the Elections Act 2022 changes on the May 2023 local elections.
  • Voter identification was rolled out successfully, with most voters casting their votes without issue.
  • The UK Government received initial positive feedback on accessibility changes implemented in the elections.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Patricia Gibson SNP
Democracy & Elections
Context

The Elections Act 2022 introduced changes that affect voter identification and accessibility for disabled people. Local elections took place in May 2023.

Question

What assessment has the Department made of the impact of the changes introduced by the Elections Act 2022 on the local elections held in May 2023?

Answer from Felicity Buchan

We are encouraged by the first roll-out of voter identification, and we are confident—based on sector feedback and our own observations—that the vast majority of voters will have cast their votes successfully. We have also been pleased to see initial positive feedback to the accessibility changes for disabled people. We will conduct an evaluation and publish the report no later than November.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific impact on voter disenfranchisement or whether more restrictions are planned, particularly for postal votes, were not directly addressed.

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Q2 Patricia Gibson SNP
Democracy & Elections
Context

The UK Government rejected the Electoral Commission's advice to delay the implementation of voter ID until after council elections last month. Concerns are raised about voter disenfranchisement across political spectrums.

Question

Of course, the UK Government rejected the Electoral Commission's suggestion and advice to delay voter ID until after the council elections last month. Does the Minister agree with her former Cabinet colleague, the right hon. Member for North East Somerset (Mr Rees-Mogg), who said that parties trying to gerrymander find their schemes backfiring and that the Government had upset a system that worked perfectly well? Does she not accept that voter ID has disenfranchised voters across the political spectrum? Does she want more voter ID restrictions, including for postal votes?

Answer from Felicity Buchan

The anecdotal feedback is very much that this has been a successful enterprise. We will have our report come November, and the Electoral Commission's interim report in June and full report in September. We are prepared to learn lessons, but our evaluation from anecdotal feedback is that it has been a successful roll-out.

Not addressed: The Minister did not directly address whether she agrees with her former colleague's statements or the claim of voter disenfranchisement. She also avoided discussing further restrictions on postal votes.

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