Boris Johnson, the UK’s former Prime Minister, couldn’t vote in a local election because he didn’t bring his photo ID, which is now required. Interestingly, it was Johnson’s own government that made these IDs necessary for voting.
Advertisement
When he went to vote in South Oxfordshire, the staff at the polling station didn’t let him in. But he came back later with his ID and voted.
The rule about needing a photo ID to vote, part of the Elections Act 2022, wasn’t well-received when it first came out. The UK’s Electoral Commission even said in 2023 that this rule might stop lots of people, especially those without jobs or from ethnic minority groups, from voting.
Advertisement
A group of MPs from different parties also said in March that the new voting system might stop millions from voting in the next general election because they don’t have the right ID.
Johnson wasn’t the only one who had trouble voting. Adam Diver, a former soldier, was really disappointed when he couldn’t vote because his veteran’s ID card wasn’t accepted.
As for the local elections on Thursday, they happened all over the UK for many councils and mayors.
The early results showed that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s party lost a lot of seats, which matches what the national polls predicted. If there were a general election soon, it looks like the Labour Party would win.
Leave a Reply