Supporting campaigners on Voter ID regulations
This week, we supported campaign groups Unlock Democracy Electoral Reform Society Open Britain and Fair Vote UK in organising a roundtable and parliamentary drop in event as part of their campaign to draw attention to what they see as the democratic downside of the new photographic Voter ID regulations. Initial reports have confirmed that over 14,000 potential voters were turned away at the May 2023 local elections because they were not able to show a qualifying form of photographic ID, however, the actual number of voters turned away or put off from voting would actually have been much higher.
The coalition of campaign groups came together with leading stakeholders to discuss the issue. Many thanks to Bylines Networks Limited Hogan Lovells Reed Smith LLP Runnymede Trust National Union of Students (UK) Big Brother Watch Age UK Liberty (National Council for Civil Liberties) and The British Youth Council for attending the roundtable, and for all their important and informative contributions on the impacts of Voter ID on different demographics.
We were also delighted to hold a parliamentary event immediately after the stakeholder roundtable. Parliamentarians from across both Houses were able to hear about the numbers of voters turned away by region and how the Voter ID requirements have impacted on voters and the elections. Many thanks to Grahame Morris MP - Working for Easington for kindly sponsoring the room.
These events were the culmination of several months of media focussed campaigning on the issue. This campaign included Tom Brake being featured on Good Morning Britain, ITV News at 6, LBC and the Jeremy Vine show, over 400 online and in-print media hits pieces across a range of national and regional press, including the BBC, Daily Mail, Financial Times, Mirror and the Express, and even a mention on social media from Armando Iannucci!
We are very proud of our work with Unlock Democracy Electoral Reform Society Open Britain and Fair Vote UK on this important campaign.
We’d be delighted to hear from anyone who wants to learn more about our work and our services – we’re at hello@tendoconsulting.co.uk