Labour’s plot to ‘rig’ the next election by meddling with voting laws was last night described as ‘deeply concerning’.
Sir Keir Starmer’s government is proposing to allow millions of foreign nationals to vote and abolish measures to prevent voter fraud.
Ministers are considering plans to overhaul the way elections are held by scrapping voter ID laws and give five million foreign nationals the right to vote in UK elections.
It has led to accusations that the party is trying to lock in a Labour majority by removing obstacles designed to tackle voter fraud.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a Left-wing think-tank closely aligned with Labour, have said in a recent report that there is a ‘clear need for a wider political conversation about the notion of citizenship and voting rights in the UK.’
It also called for the ‘removal or relaxation’ of rules introduced in 2022 that force people to show photographic identification before voting.
Ministers could also consider automatically registering voters ‘shortly before their 16th birthdays’ – a move that would add 700,000 young people to the electoral register each year. Plans to expand the right to vote to 16 and 17-year-olds are already underway.
Labour was last night urged to reject the proposals, which are seen by critics as a method of expanding eligibility to millions of voters who overwhelmingly back the party, outright.
Sir Keir Starmer’s government is looking at expanding the voter franchise, as well as abolishing voter ID laws
Labour was urged to reject the proposals, which could expand eligibility to millions of voters who overwhelmingly back the party (file photo)
Former Cabinet Minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said last night: ‘Foreign nationals must not be allowed to vote in UK elections. Most will have the option to apply for British citizenship and if they have not taken it up clearly do not want to be full participants in our country so do not deserve the precious right to vote.
‘I would also question whether it is still right to allow Commonwealth citizens to vote, it is an historic anomaly that in an era of excessive migration ought to be reviewed.’
Tory MP Peter Bedford added: ‘It is deeply concerning that, with the many challenges facing the country, Labour has chosen to pick this as one of the top issues we face.
‘A robust electoral system needs to command confidence from the public. Any plans to extend the franchise to five million foreign nationals would completely undermine this.
‘Rather than devising ways to ‘stitch up’ the next election the Government should be focusing on the real issues affecting our constituents. Be it their rising energy bills, support for the elderly following the cuts to the winter fuel payments, or being able to get a doctors appointment.’
Nigel Huddleston, co-chairman of the Conservative Party, told the Mail on Sunday that the proposals were ‘nothing more than a shameless attempt by Labour to rig elections in its favour and turn a blind eye to electoral fraud’.
Rishi Sunak warned before losing last year’s General Election that Sir Keir would do ‘irreversible damage’ to Britain if Labour won.
He said the Labour Prime Minister would ‘fix’ the electoral system to give the vote to 16-year-olds, who tend to be Labour-leaning.
Esther McVey, the then ‘Minister for Common Sense’ also warned that Labour would go out of its way to try and change election laws to suit its agenda.
Voter ID was introduced as part of the Elections Act 2022 passed by the former Tory government
Writing in the Mail on Sunday last June she said: ‘Sir Keir Starmer is too scared to fight elections fair and square so he must resort to these underhand tactics to rig elections in his favour.’
She added: ‘At best, the policy is inconsistent. At worst, votes for 16-year-olds is rigging our electoral system. Starmer has been billed as the “knight who is afraid to fight”. And that is exactly what this is.
‘With this damaging and immoral plan, Starmer is trying to guarantee that Labour stay in power for a generation, with a mandate handed to ram through even more Leftwing policies.’
Labour were contacted for comment.
