Mandatory voter ID will cost £40m over a decade

Labour has said that plans for voters to show photo ID before in future elections will cost around £40 million in extra government spending over a decade.

Those in favour of the policy, which the government committed to in the recent Queen’s Speech, say the move will make elections more secure by cracking down on in-person voter fraud. Those opposing it claims that mandatory ID could exclude would-be voters, especially vulnerable voters, including older or disabled people, or those who are homeless.

The Labour calculation is based on government estimates for how much the ID scheme will cost at elections, and official figures and responses to freedom of information requests about money already spent on pilot schemes.

Trials of voter ID took place in a series of English council districts at local elections in 2018 and 2019, with the former costing approximately £1.7 million and the latter nearly £1.9 million. The estimate for the cost of administering photo ID nationwide for general elections is £17,900,000 each time, with Labour working on the assumption of two elections over the time period.

Cat Smith, Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Office Minister, said: “The policy is set to cost millions of pounds at every election. Voting is safe and secure in Britain. Ministers should be promoting confidence in our elections instead of spreading baseless scare stories which threaten our democracy.

“Millions of people lack photo ID in this country – in particular the elderly, low income and black, Asian and ethnic minority voters. The Conservatives are reversing decades of democratic progress and urgently need to rethink this pointless policy.”