European Elections: Lib Dem MP joins calls for inquiry into DeniedMyVote scandal
Demands for probe follow reports some voters were told to ‘vote in own country’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran has called for an inquiry into the UK's handling of the European Elections after some voters were turned away from polling stations.
EU citizens trying to vote in the European elections reported turning up at polling stations to find their name had been crossed off the list, with some even being told to "vote in your own country".
The scale of the apparent problem was reflected on Twitter as #DeniedMyVote began to trend, with more and more voters sharing stories of being turned away from polling stations.
Layla Moran, MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, told The Independent: "I blame the government, not the returning officers, because what they should have done is realise the absence of reform for the process for EU citizens to register which was raised in 2014, it's not like we didn't see this coming.
"They should have had a massive advertising campaign and written to every EU citizen in the country with the form that they needed, making clear what the process had to be. I realised that wasn't happening so I wrote to some of my constituents who I was able to in time to remind them that they needed that UC1 form to vote."
The government now faces the threat of court action because the additional forms required by EU citizens could be seen as discrimination under Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
Ms Moran has called for an inquiry into the issue and blamed the government for the complications.
"What needs to happen is we need to have an inquiry into what happened and as a matter of urgency," she told The Independent.
"I think what this government wants is for us to leave the EU, they never wanted to take part in these elections, and therefore they had no interest politically or otherwise to encourage the enfranchisement of EU citizens living in this country.
"They are the government. They should have taken a non political party view on this, because the reality is the majority of EU citizens would not be voting for the Tory party, and I think they made a decision that was party political, putting the party first and not the country."
Maike Bohn, founder of the3million, an EU citizens group formed after the referendum in 2016, said in a statement: "I think that this bureaucratic disaster stems from the same prejudice that created the Home Office bureaucracy and the new settled status application scheme: the view that we are only here as guests, to be tolerated, not really belonging even after 20 years of residence."
The Scottish government also called for an inquiry in a statement, saying: "It is imperative that an inquiry is conducted into these issues as a matter of urgency. Any seat that is secured by only a small number of votes could be impacted by this outrageous deprivation of democratic rights."
The prime minister’s spokesperson, responding to reports of voters being turned away on Thursday, said: “The government doesn’t have a role in the administration of the polls, so you’ll appreciate I can’t comment on numbers or the accuracy of reports at this stage. But I recognise there is frustration.
“The running of polls is rightly a matter for independent returning officers. And it is for them to put in place the necessary planning and contracts with suppliers to produce and deliver items like poll cards and postal votes to meet necessary timetables.”
The result of the European elections will be announced on Sunday after the remaining EU nations have voted.
The government was contacted for comment but had not responded at the time of publication.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments