Number of voters turned away under government’s new ID laws will not be fully counted

Minister says it is not government’s job to understand why people leave polling stations without voting

A polling station in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire (Getty/iStockphoto)

The number of people turned away from voting because they don't have the right ID will not be fully recorded, a minister has admitted.

Communities minister Rachel Maclean yesterday confirmed to the Commons that would-be voters turned away by greeters would not be counted in official figures.

The development means the effect of the government's new voter ID policies – which critics have characterised as voter suppression – may never be known.