People take part in a rally against the Elections Bill in Parliament Square, London, February 2022
THE Tory government’s voter ID scheme is a “threat to democracy,” Unison has charged, after official figures showed only 1 per cent of those without valid documents have signed up to alternatives.
An estimated two million people lack accepted forms of identification — including passports and driving licences — but only 20,000 have so far applied for a government-issued voter authority certificate.
The widely condemned Elections Act 2022 means that those without documents will be unable to vote in future local polls across England or in British general elections.
Roger McKenzie talks to general secretary of Unison CHRISTINA McANEA about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on members, the local government funding emergency and the threat of Reform UK
Digital ID means the government could track anyone and then limit their speech, movements, finances — and it could get this all wrong, identifying the wrong people for the wrong reasons, as the numerous digital cockups so far demonstrate, warns DYLAN MURPHY
With turnout plummeting and faith in Parliament collapsing, BERT SCHOUWENBURG explains how radical local government reform — including devolved taxation and removal of party politics from town halls — could restore power to communities currently ignored by profit-obsessed MPs
