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Boris Johnson was turned away from his local polling station when trying to vote in the local elections after forgetting to bring an acceptable form of photo identification.

Sky News understands polling station staff were forced to send the former prime minister away after he initially failed to comply with legislation he introduced while he was in Downing Street.

Mr Johnson, who introduced the Elections Act requiring photo ID in 2022, was attempting to cast his ballot in South Oxfordshire, where a police and crime commissioner for the Thames Valley was being selected.

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He posted on X on Thursday morning: “The polls are now open. Vote Conservative today!”

The Elections Act has proved controversial, with fears that it would prove a deterrent to voting, particularly among disadvantaged groups.

In 2023, the Electoral Commission warned the new law, which requires people to show acceptable forms of photo ID when voting in person, could exclude hundreds of thousands of people, including those with disabilities and from minority ethnic backgrounds.

The commission found that in local elections last May, 14,000 people were not able to vote because they did not have acceptable ID.

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What’s at stake in these local elections?

In England, passports, driving licences, blue badges and certain local travel cards are accepted forms of voter ID.

A spokesman for Mr Johnson did not deny he had failed to bring ID, saying only: “Mr Johnson voted Conservative.”

Meanwhile, the government has also said it plans to make veterans’ ID cards a valid form of voter identification after former service personnel were turned away from polling stations.

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Vote counting begins in local elections

Veterans minister Johnny Mercer apologised to those who had been unable to use their veterans’ ID card to vote in the local elections, vowing to “do all I can” to have it added to the list of valid identification.

A Number 10 spokeswoman said: “It is our intention for the new Veteran Card, which was rolled out in January, to be added to the official list.”

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Mr Mercer’s apology came after Army veteran Adam Diver complained he had been turned away from his local polling station after presenting his Veteran Card.

Mr Diver, 48, had been looking to place his vote in Fleetwood, Lancashire, but was turned away after presenting his card, and described the experience as leaving him feeling “gutted”.

Labour said the government has had years to ensure the Veteran Card was included on the list of valid voter ID, having begun rolling out the cards in 2019.

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BTC’s ‘incoming’ $110K call, BlackRock’s $1.1B inflow day, and more: Hodler’s Digest Nov. 3 – 9

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BTC’s ‘incoming’ 0K call, BlackRock’s .1B inflow day, and more: Hodler’s Digest Nov. 3 – 9

Analyst forecasts $110K Bitcoin price, BlackRock sees $1 billion in daily inflows into spot Bitcoin ETF, and more: Hodler’s Digest

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A new Trump administration may boost crypto, but the devil is in the details 

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A new Trump administration may boost crypto, but the devil is in the details 

The next four years should be ‘highly favorable’ to the digital assets sector, but thoughtful legislation will be critical. 

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War in Ukraine ‘needs concessions on both sides’, says Nigel Farage

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War in Ukraine 'needs concessions on both sides', says Nigel Farage

The war in Ukraine needs “concessions on both sides” if it is to come to an end, Nigel Farage has said.

The Reform UK leader suggested the invaded nation could gain “quite a lot from settling”, though he refused to say if this meant giving up territory to Russia in return.

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Mr Farage was speaking to Sky News after travelling back from America following his ally Donald Trump’s election victory.

Asked about the president-elect’s claims he could end the war in Ukraine “on day one”, Mr Farage said: “Well, the war is horrendous. There are nearly a million battle casualties. It’s like the battle of the Somme with drones.

“We have two options. We can keep feeding Ukraine, and that’s fine. And the war goes on for another year, two years, five years. The casualties mount. What Trump has said is he wants to attempt to broker a peace deal.”

The Clacton MP said that would require “concessions on both sides”, adding: ” I think Ukraine could actually gain quite a lot.”

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He would not be drawn on whether that could mean Ukraine giving up territory, but said that “any negotiation is going to involve things that the other side don’t like”.

He added: “I think that the appeal to Ukraine would be part of that negotiation would be that Ukraine would become a full part of NATO. Now, Putin would hate that… but that would have to be part of the deal.

“If there were territorial concessions, that’s all for the negotiations.”

Pressed on if he thinks Ukraine should be open to territorial concessions, he said: “I’m not playing your silly game. I think there should be peace talks.”

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Farage joins Trump for election night

He added that while former prime minister Boris Johnson, a staunch backer of Ukraine, wants “the war to go on forever… all wars end either in negotiation, with concessions or annihilation”.

Armed conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted in early 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and escalated in February 2022 when Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion.

Mr Farage previously drew criticism for his views on the conflict during the UK’s general election campaign, when he said the West “provoked” Russia into the invasion with NATO’s and the EU’s expansion.

He ultimately won the seat for Clacton in Essex, but has since faced criticism for not spending enough time in his constituency.

Asked about this during his interview, Mr Farage said: “I’ve just exchanged contracts on the house that I’ll be living there in, is that good enough?”

He also questioned how much time Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer spends in his constituency, or Lib Dem leader Ed Davey, saying things were different for party leaders than backbench MPs.

“I am representing Clacton, yes, but I’m also leading a national political party which is rapidly rising in the polls, which we have to build from the ground up,” he said.

“Today is Friday. Very often MPs are in constituencies on Friday. I’m in Wales, we’re having an inaugural Reform UK conference here. We’re looking to the Senedd elections.

“Tomorrow, I’ll be in Exeter. If you’re a national party leader, it’s different.”

After the interview, a source close to Mr Farage said: “Nigel has been to Clacton more than 10 times since being elected. He has kept his promise to have a property in the constituency, writes a weekly column for the Clacton Gazette (10 weeks in a row) and is having two further visits next week.”

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