The new voter ID law will needlessly deny people their democratic right

There is too much law already, and the prime minister ought to agree with me, writes John Rentoul

The law’s only practical effect will be to prevent people voting who ought to be entitled to vote (PA)

There is far too much law in this country, and the Elections Act 2022 is a prime example. The requirement for voters to show proof of identity before voting in the local elections on 4 May is a solution without a problem.

Impersonation, which means the same as the posher “personation” (although it sounds as if it should be the opposite) is incredibly rare. The government, in its explanation of the new law, says that this is because it is hard to detect and hard to prosecute. Which may be true, but if it were a real problem, more than a handful of people would be turning up at the polling station each year to be told that they have already voted.

I have never been able to find out how and why the law came about. I don’t believe conspiracy theories about “voter suppression” – I think they arise from the error of applying a US concept to British politics. If some evil genius in Conservative HQ had the bright idea of making it harder for anti-Tory voters to vote, they would not have invented voter ID. As well as disenfranchising (some of) the young and the poor, the biggest group likely to be affected is the old, who tend to vote Tory.