Our gangster prime minister is attempting to steal people’s votes

This is the first of what promises to be a series of attempts by this authoritarian government to deny us our civil liberties

One week into the new government and the joke is already wearing thin. In the Queen’s Speech, the government published an ambitious programme that focuses on what it calls “the people’s priorities”: funding for the NHS; local homes for first-time buyers; a vague guarantee that no one should have to sell their home to pay for long-term care; tougher custodial sentencing. These are things people demonstrably care about. The vanishingly small problem of voter fraud is not such a thing.

Outside Northern Ireland, personation has rarely been an issue in British elections. It is certainly not as big an issue as, say, unregulated social media propaganda or foreign interference, actual or attempted. Making voter ID compulsory is not a necessity; it is a party-political calculation that will erode our democracy. No wonder opposition MPs were subdued in the chamber today: the government is about to suppress the franchise under the guise of protecting it.

As things stand, only those already in possession of a passport, driving licence or new document, and whose names and date of birth exactly match the version on the electoral register, will be permitted to vote. Will Tony Blair be allowed to take a ballot paper if it says “Anthony Charles Lynton Blair” on the electoral roll, but “Tony” on his ID? Will Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson be allowed to cast a vote if it says only “Boris Johnson” on the polling officer’s list? Many people have names that don’t quite match up, or cannot quite remember where they left their driving licence. Compulsory photographic ID will lead to much confusion and frustration if it is applied harshly; indeed, justified anger.

Yet it is unlikely to be politicians like Johnson who will be turned away at the polling station under his plans. Rather, the voters who will most likely find themselves unable to vote due to a lack of ID, or deterred from voting because of the bureaucratic fuss of obtaining some, are poor, Bame and young. Many don’t have driving licences or passports, nor will they go to the trouble of getting one just to vote. They will simply disappear from the democratic process – as is the intention.

This is the first of what promises to be a series of civil liberties and human rights denials from this authoritarian government. It is nothing short of ballot rigging. It is reminiscent of what is happening in some of America’s southern states. It is no laughing matter.

Nor is it only opposition parties that recognise the danger of what the Conservatives are doing. The Electoral Reform Society, a universally respected body, is in no doubt about what is happening. “Make no mistake,” warned its chief executive Darren Hughes, “these plans will leave tens of thousands of legitimate voters voiceless. Ministers should focus on combating the real threats to our democracy, rather than suppressing voters’ rights.” Hughes added: “This gamble with our democracy will strike many voters as US-style gerrymandering, with Britain’s tradition of trust at the ballot box abolished in one swoop. Ministers must think again.”

The proposed law confirms that the UK is being governed by gangster politicians who will happily bend the rules to suit themselves. If such a bill passes, Britain will be one step closer to an elective dictatorship. Far from discouraging electoral fraud, the proposed law actually represents the biggest exercise in electoral fraud in British history – and daylight robbery of our democracy.