Councillor Janette Williamson moved and Councillor Angie Davies seconded a motion submitted in accordance with Standing Order 13.

In moving the motion, Councillor Williamson confirmed that she was happy to accept the Green Group amendment, which was moved by Councillor Judith Grier and seconded by Councillor Harry Gorman and read as follows:

Insert after final paragraph:

‘If, despite the many arguments against, mandatory checks are introduced for the elections in May 2023 Council believes that the earliest possible implementation and timely delivery of any voter ID procedures will be essential to ensure as few residents as possible are disenfranchised. We therefore call on government to ensure that adequate funds are made available to local authorities to implement any changes.’

Following a debate, and Councillor Williamson having replied, the motion was put and it was –

Resolved (39:19) (1 abstention) – That

The Government are determined to push ahead with the implementation of mandatory Voter ID to ‘combat voter fraud’ despite little evidence of such fraud. In fact there were only 6 known cases of voter fraud in the last election (as admitted by the previous Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock MP).

A study commissioned by the Cabinet Office has shown that more than 2 million people lack the necessary ID to vote in elections. Council believes the Government have cynically and deliberately attempted to exclude young people and those from disadvantaged backgrounds from the democratic process. This will mean that many Wirral residents will be unable to exercise their right to vote because of lack of appropriate ID.

Councils will have to issue Wirral voters with an electoral identity document, at an estimated cost nationally of £15m, and it is very unlikely this process will be ready until January 2023 with limited time to make residents aware of the new rules, cope with last minute applications or gauge demand. Most importantly, Council believes the Voter ID checks could stop people from voting, suppress turnout amongst disadvantaged groups and ultimately sway results with the real possibility of challenges in court. Council believes this is an unnecessary distraction and focus should be on addressing major concerns such as media bias, low turnout and not introducing a barrier preventing voters exercising their democratic right to vote.

Wirral Council has suffered 12 years of austerity and is facing huge budget challenges. This is a drain on time and resources and driven by a Conservative Government who Council believes are attempting to manipulate elections in a manner that demeans our democracy.

Wirral Council calls on the Government to delay the implementation of mandatory Voter ID checks at next year’s local elections as there is still lack of clarity about the rules and a short timetable to establish the system which could leave hundreds of Wirral residents disenfranchised.

If, despite the many arguments against, mandatory checks are introduced for the elections in May 2023 Council believes that the earliest possible implementation and timely delivery of any voter ID procedures will be essential to ensure as few residents as possible are disenfranchised. We therefore call on government to ensure that adequate funds are made available to local authorities to implement any changes.