Why is it becoming harder for you to vote?
The News Agents
Global
4.1 • 5.4K Ratings
🗓️ 27 April 2023
⏱️ 37 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
For the first time ever, voter ID will be required at the polling stations next week for the May local council elections in England.
It may not seem like a big ask - many countries in Europe already demand it. Yet it's triggering alarm bells.
Why has the government introduced a solution to a problem (voter fraud) that didn't exist? Why has it restricted the kinds of ID you're allowed to bring? And why has it refused to accept the advice - even from senior Conservatives - saying the changes could lead to massive disenfranchisement and disillusionment with the democratic system.
We'll be talking about how to vote, and what these elections could tell us about the political winds.
You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/
The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Newsagents podcast is brought to you by HSBC UK, opening up a world of opportunity. |
| 0:09.4 | This is a global player original podcast. |
| 0:12.8 | We're going to talk about the principles of democracy. |
| 0:15.4 | And if that sounds like a heavy university thesis subject, it's not. |
| 0:20.7 | Democracy is quite simple. It's based on the principle that there |
| 0:23.5 | should be no taxation without representation. And it should be one person, one vote over the agreed |
| 0:32.4 | voting age, which Britain is 18. But it's more complicated than that. |
| 0:43.7 | It's more complicated because right now the government is bringing in a new piece of legislation, |
| 0:50.2 | which requires voters to have photo identification when they go to the polls. |
| 1:03.8 | And even though it sounds like a pretty simple thing to bring along with you, it depends on you bringing the right kind of photo identification and in knowing that you have to bring it along with you. |
| 1:16.6 | And this piece of legislation gets a trial run in one week's time in English council elections. When we are going to see if the population that is meant to be voting, that is offered the chance to vote, actually knows what they have to do |
| 1:22.8 | and how the rules have changed. Because if they don't, there's going to be a lot of people turned away from the polls. |
| 1:31.7 | And that probably isn't very democratic. |
| 1:35.1 | And that is why there is deep political concern. |
| 1:38.0 | Because the Labour Party believes that the net effect of this |
| 1:41.8 | is going to be to deter young people and people from minority groups to go and vote. |
| 1:49.3 | Perhaps people who might vote disproportionately in favour of the Labour Party, |
| 1:55.2 | and therefore it is being seen as some kind of act of voter suppression. And that is why there is considerable unease. |
| 2:06.0 | Welcome to the newsagents. |
| 2:10.9 | The newsagents. It's John. It's Emily. So we're talking about the need to bring voter ID to the polling station when you go to poll. And this is particularly relevant to people who will be voting in exactly a week's time in the local English council elections. And I suppose it's not that odd. You know, you need ID for a lot of things. You need it to pick up a parcel. |
| 2:34.6 | You need it to get tickets. You need it when you check in somewhere, right? So on the surface of |
| 2:39.3 | things, we're just kind of catching up with a rule that exists in plenty of European countries, |
... |
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