Defeat over voter ID plans in House of Lords

The government’s plans to introduce photo ID for voters in elections has been defeated in the House of Lords.

The government, which has argued that photo ID would tackle voter fraud, has faced criticism that such a move would discourage some people from voting. The government will now have to decide whether or not to try to overturn the vote in the House of Commons.

The proposed Elections Bill seeks to introduce a measure that requires people to show an approved form of photo ID before voting, and would fulfil a manifesto promise made by the government.

The government says that under its plans people without an approved form of ID would be able to get a free voter card from the council, however Conservative former minister Lord Willetts said it would be cheaper to broaden the range of acceptable forms of identification. He has proposed an amendment which said voters should be allowed to use documents including library cards and workplace or student ID cards to prove their identity.

Labour's Baroness Hayman supported his amendment, arguing it would ‘help to mitigate against the serious concerns about the impact of photographic voter identification on turnout’.