‘The government’s Elections Bill is all about making it difficult or impossible to vote’

• WHAT is the link between the United Kingdom and Belarus?

They are the only democracies in Europe that still use the FPTP, first-past-the-post, system for nationwide elections; a system by which the country is nearly always governed by a party that most people didn’t vote for.

If the government’s Elections Bill is passed, the similarities with Belarus will increase!

The bill is all about making it difficult or impossible to vote: introducing a voter ID requirement (at a cost of around £125million) which is likely to disenfranchise up to two million people eligible to vote including young people, people with disabilities and those who do not have a driving licence or passport; excluding European Union citizens, even those who work and pay tax here legally, while Brits living abroad will be able to vote; introducing first-past-the-post for the mayoral and police consultative committee elections; bringing political interference into the Electoral Commission which oversees elections; and changing the spending rules to restrict contributions from trades unions and community organisations, disproportionately impacting on opposition parties.

These, coupled with the policing bill which plans to restrict public protests, will make the UK more like those “undemocratic” states who cannot tolerate any opposition and who are prepared to fix the system to prevent the people’s voices from being heard.

On Saturday February 5 Make Votes Matter North London joined many other groups and individuals to express our concern, demonstrating in Parliament Square, and urging peers and MPs to vote against this retrograde legislation.

We would urge any peers among your readership (I suspect there are some) to do so when it comes before them later this month, and ask all your readers to write to peers and MPs to add their voices on this important issue.

CATH ATTLEE
Fordwych Road, NW2