‘No evidence of fraud, so why shake it up?’
THE Mirror asked voters in Central London their views on ID.
Retired drama teacher, Barbara Dilworth, 71, thinks the new laws are too stringent.
She said: “It’s over the top. Has there been any fraud? That’s what I would like to know.
“I need more evidence, I need them to say exactly what the fraud is, what shape it takes.
“I would be against it until there is proper evidence.”
Lecturer Harry Derbyshire, 50, asked the same question. He said: “Is there very much voter fraud? I don’t think anyone’s noticed. It’s a bit like what they do in America where they prevent people from minorities from voting, just making it difficult for people. So I am not in favour of it.
“The people who are more likely to get ID are those more likely to vote Conservative.”
Teacher David Thompson, 72, is in favour if ID.
But he said: “As long as it doesn’t disadvantage people who want to vote. Some form of proof of address maybe, it is a bit slack at the moment.” Actor Jess Smith, 23, was unaware of the new ID laws but thinks they could be a barrier for some people to vote.
She said: “If you don’t have access to ID, it would definitely be a cause for concern.
“I don’t think we need more people being more restricted to vote than already are. Some people over 18 may not have a provisional licence or necessarily a passport. It’s going to make it harder, or more effort, for young people to vote. It’s probably a bad thing but probably exactly what politicians want.”
Fellow actor James Harrison, 24, added:
“If you don’t have a provisional licence, it’s going to cost you
£50 to vote because you have to spend
£50 to get a provisional licence.
Why are they making it easier for the old people and harder for the young people? That’s suspicious.”
Student Amelia Robson, 20, said: “There’s already problems with getting young people to vote anyway so it might make that gap even bigger. Fellow student Issie Mais, 21, added: “How big is the voter fraud problem and how many people are not going to vote because of these new laws?”
Finance worker Liam Burges, 27, said: “I don’t agree with it. It would affect people from particular backgrounds that the Tories want to stop people voting from.
“I’m not sure how big of an issue voter fraud is. It’s going to be a small percentage of people who are going to take advantage of the trust that is in the system.”
But builder Graham Marks, 62, said: “It’s fine, a good idea. I don’t see any reason why anyone shouldn’t have an ID. Everyone has access to ID. I can’t see why you wouldn’t have access to ID unless you’re trying to hide something. I can’t see why it would slow things down.”
And French student Chris Tagnon, 20, said: “I don’t think it will make it harder to vote because people usually walk around with ID.”