Boris Johnson turned away from polling station after forgetting ID

Published

1 year ago

May 3, 2024

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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.

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.

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.”

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.

Politics

Why Boris’s best mate is off to Reform

Published

1 hour ago

July 10, 2025

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👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈       

Former Conservative chairman and friend of Boris Johnson – Sir Jake Berry – is defecting to Reform UK, causing more problems for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

On today’s episode, Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy discuss if his defection will divide parts of Reform policy.

Elsewhere, the Anglo-French summit gets under way, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hoping to announce a migration deal with French President Emmanuel Macron to deter small boat crossings.

Plus, chatter around Whitehall that No10 are considering a pre-summer reshuffle, but will it have any value?

Politics

Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

Published

4 hours ago

July 10, 2025

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Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

The trial is part of Project Acacia, an initiative from the RBA exploring how digital money and tokenization could support financial markets in Australia.

Politics

Starmer and Macron agree need for ‘new deterrent’ to stop small boat crossings

Published

10 hours ago

July 10, 2025

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Starmer and Macron agree need for 'new deterrent' to stop small boat crossings

Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have agreed the need for a “new deterrent” to deter small boats crossings in the Channel, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister met Mr Macron this afternoon as part of the French president’s state visit to the UK, which began on Tuesday.

High up the agenda for the two leaders is the need to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel, which Mr Macron said yesterday was a “burden” for both the UK and France.

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The small boats crisis is a pressing issue for the prime minister, given that more than 20,000 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in the first six months of this year – a rise of almost 50% on the number crossing in 2024.

Sir Keir is hoping he can reach a deal for a one-in one-out return treaty with France, ahead of the UK-France summit on Thursday, which will involve ministerial teams from both nations.

The deal would see those crossing the Channel illegally sent back to France in exchange for Britain taking in any asylum seeker with a family connection in the UK.

However, it is understood the deal is still in the balance, with some EU countries unhappy about France and the UK agreeing on a bilateral deal.

French newspaper Le Monde reports that up to 50 small boat migrants could be sent back to France each week, starting from August, as part of an agreement between Sir Keir and Mr Macron.

A statement from Downing Street said: “The prime minister met the French President Emmanuel Macron in Downing Street this afternoon.

“They reflected on the state visit of the president so far, agreeing that it had been an important representation of the deep ties between our two countries.

“Moving on to discuss joint working, they shared their desire to deepen our partnership further – from joint leadership in support of Ukraine to strengthening our defence collaboration and increasing bilateral trade and investment.”

It added: “The leaders agreed tackling the threat of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions.

“The prime minister spoke of his government’s toughening of the system in the past year to ensure rules are respected and enforced, including a massive surge in illegal working arrests to end the false promise of jobs that are used to sell spaces on boats.

“The two leaders agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of these gangs.”

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, seized on the statement to criticise Labour for scrapping the Conservatives’ Rwanda plan, which the Tories claim would have sent asylum seekers “entering the UK illegally” to Rwanda.

He said in an online post: “We had a deterrent ready to go, where every single illegal immigrant arriving over the Channel would be sent to Rwanda.

“But Starmer cancelled this before it had a chance to start.

“Now, a year later, he’s realised he made a massive mistake. That’s why numbers have surged and this year so far has been the worst in history for illegal channel crossings.

“Starmer is weak and incompetent and he’s lost control of our borders.”