Local elections 2023: David Davis calls for delay to new voter photo ID rules to prevent ‘hundreds of thousands’ being blocked from casting ballots

Published

2 years ago

April 18, 2023

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Hundreds of thousands of people could be denied their right to vote unless new compulsory voter ID rules are delayed, a former Conservative cabinet minister has warned.

Raising the alarm about the impact of forcing voters to produce ID in England for the first time at May’s local elections, Tory grandee David Davis urged the government to pause, or risk disenfranchising the poor and elderly.

The former cabinet minister told Sky News that the uptake of free photo ID among those who do not already have one – such as a driver’s licence, a blue badge or a passport – was worryingly low.

The government’s own data shows just over 48,000 people have registered online in the past two months, compared to estimates of between 925,000 and 3.5 million people without existing ID.

“The system they put in place to deal with the problem of those with no ID has not worked,” he said.

“I would at the very least just delay it and say, ‘look we will do this in due course when we’ve got enough of the people in that vulnerable group covered’.

“If they do that, at least it avoids the worst outcome which is thousands, tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of people are prevented from voting and exercising their democratic right.”

Yesterday was the deadline for people to register to vote in the local elections, which are now just two weeks away.

A total of 53,849 applications to take part in the elections were submitted in the last 24 hours before the cut-off, the highest for a single day so far this year.

More than 8,000 council seats in England are being contested on 4 May.

Ministers have insisted that the rule change in voting rules is necessary to prevent in-person voter fraud despite the vanishingly low number of cases – there was just one incident which initiated court proceedings across all UK elections last year, according to the Electoral Commission.

In response, Mr Davis said: “It’s preventing something that doesn’t happen.”

“This is an answer to a problem that’s not there. Are we actually going to discriminate against the old and the poor in our election system?”

A government spokesperson said: “We cannot be complacent when it comes to ensuring our democracy remains secure. Photo identification has been used in Northern Ireland elections since 2003.

“The vast majority of people already have a form of acceptable identification. We’re urging anyone who doesn’t to apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate as soon as possible and we expect more people to apply over the next few weeks.

“We’re working closely with the sector to support the rollout and are funding the necessary equipment and staffing for the change in requirements.”

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The deadline for applying for free voter ID in time to vote in May’s local elections is 5pm on 25 April.

UK

Woman arrested on suspicion of murder after death of two children in Stafford

Published

40 mins ago

October 12, 2025

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Woman arrested on suspicion of murder after death of two children in Stafford

A 43-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the death of two children in Stafford.

Police were called to a home on Corporation Street at around 7.30am on Sunday by West Midlands Ambulance Service.

Two children were pronounced dead at the scene, Staffordshire Police said.

Detective Inspector Kirsty Oldfield said: “We are working hard to understand more about what happened leading up to these two children tragically losing their lives.

“We ask that people do not speculate at this stage as it is distressing for family and friends and could hinder our inquiries.

“We understand that this incident may cause concern in the local community. We don’t believe there is wider threat to the public at this time.”

The 43-year-old woman, who is from the Stafford area, remains in custody.

The force has not confirmed the ages of the two children. Their next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially-trained officers, police said.

UK

Man charged with stalking after allegedly targeting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and his family

Published

2 hours ago

October 12, 2025

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Man charged with stalking after allegedly targeting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and his family

A man has been charged with stalking and possession of a flick knife after allegedly targeting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and his family.

Inigo Rowland, 58, of Surbiton, south London, was arrested last Monday, but it was only made public on Sunday.

He appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody, the Met Police said.

The offences are alleged to have taken place between June and October.

Sir Ed, the MP for Kingston and Surbiton, lives in southwest London with his wife, Emily, their 17-year-old son John, and his younger sister Ellie.

A spokesperson for the Met Police said: “Inigo Rowland, 58, of Surbiton has been charged with stalking and possession of a flick knife.

“He appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 7 October and was remanded into custody. He will next appear at the same court on Tuesday, 14 October.

“He was arrested on Monday, 6 October in relation to the offences, which are alleged to have taken place between June and October.”

A Lib Dem spokesperson said: “We cannot provide any details at this time, Ed’s number one priority is the safety of his family.”

UK

Paedophile Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins dies after attack in prison

Published

13 hours ago

October 12, 2025

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Paedophile Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins dies after attack in prison

Paedophile Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins has died after being attacked in prison.

Watkins, 48, was serving a 29-year jail term for multiple sexual offences, including serious crimes against young children and babies at HMP Wakefield, in West Yorkshire.

He was attacked with a knife by another inmate on Saturday morning, sources have confirmed.

West Yorkshire Police said two men, aged 25 and 43, have been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Watkins was pronounced dead at the scene after prison staff reported the assault to police.

The prison went into lockdown in the immediate aftermath of the incident, sources added.

A Prison Service spokesperson said they could not comment while the police investigate.

Watkins was previously stabbed in an incident at the same prison in 2023, suffering non life-threatening injuries after he was reportedly taken hostage by three other inmates before being freed by prison officers six hours later.

He was sentenced in December 2013 to 29 years in prison, with a further six years on licence, after admitting 13 sex offences, including the attempted rape of a fan’s baby.

He also encouraged a second fan to abuse her child during a webcam chat and secretly stashed child sexual abuse videos, some of which he had made himself.

At the time, police described him as a “committed, organised paedophile”.

Having found fame in Welsh rock band Lostprophets, Watkins was arrested after his Pontypridd home was searched on orders of a drug warrant in September 2012.

A large number of computers, mobile phones and storage devices were seized during the search.

When sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court, the singer was told he was being given an extended sentence – and a judge said his crimes “plumbed new depths of depravity”.

After being caught with a mobile phone behind bars in 2019, he told a court that he was locked up with “murderers, mass murderers, rapists, paedophiles, serial killers – the worst of the worst”.