Fears ‘Trumpian’ rules could even see voters with ID turned away as UK goes to polls

Call for officials to be ‘sensible and flexible’

Senior Conservatives have expressed concern that even voters with photo ID risk being turned away from polling booths if new rules are strictly applied at local elections on Thursday.

Former cabinet ministers urged staff manning polling stations to be “flexible” when judging a likeness against old photographs.

The government is already under pressure over the law following warnings that more than a million people could be unable to vote as they do not have a valid form of ID.

The call came as:

• an exclusive poll for The Independent shows more than one in five still wrongly believe they can vote without showing photo ID
• a watchdog warns voters to “check your wallet” for ID before heading to cast their ballot, in a last-ditch attempt to get the message through
• Tory MPs warned they would monitor closely if people were barred from voting in their areas

Senior Tories urged officials to show leeway if there is a disparity between a voter’s picture and their current appearance.

Former cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said: “Polling staff should be sensible and flexible. Personation is very rare and I would have thought even less likely with an expired passport of whatever vintage.”

Another Tory former cabinet minister David Davis said: “If there was anything to say to the returning officers, they should be encouraging people to be able to use expired ID.”

Kevin Bentley, chair of the Local Government Association’s People and Places Board and a Tory councillor, warned that those who get turned away may “not bother to go back” with other forms of ID.

He told The Independent: “People have busy lives and may go to the polling station, not have their ID and get turned away – and then just not bother to go back.”

The local elections are the first time that photographic identification has been compulsory in England.

Only certain kinds will be accepted, including a passport and driving licence, but voters have been told they can use expired identification as long as they still look like the photograph.

However, their use will be at the discretion of polling clerks, leading to concerns that over-zealous staff could turn away voters who believe they have brought the appropriate documents.

The government is expected to face questions from Tory MPs over the impact of the use of photo ID. One senior Tory MP said: “I will certainly be wanting to see what happens in my area – and I’m sure other MPs will be too.” When it comes to out-of-date identification, if a poll clerk is unsure they must refer the matter to the presiding officer.

Only the presiding officer can refuse to hand over a ballot paper on those grounds, according to the Electoral Commission.

At that stage, they must also tell the voter the document they have provided raises a reasonable doubt about whether or not they are who they claim to be.

The voter will be asked to return with an accepted form of photographic ID that shows a current likeness.

However, the lack of awareness of the new system has led to fears that voters will run out of time to return to polling stations.

The Electoral Commission has confirmed that those who are in the queue to vote as the polls close at 10pm will be allowed to cast their ballot.

But that will not allow anyone turned away without acceptable photo ID to dash home and return to vote.

It comes as a poll for The Independent by Savana ComRes found that 22 per cent of voters believe they can vote on Thursday without showing ID.

Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat local government spokesperson, said: “These figures are deeply alarming just as voters head to the polls. The Conservative Party's Voter ID policy is a Trumpian assault on our democracy.

“Ministers must scrap this divisive and badly thought-through policy before it does any more damage. It is vital that the democratic right to vote is upheld.”