Local elections 2023: Conservatives condemned for sending out leaflets telling voters they don’t need photo ID

The Conservative Party has been condemned after sending out 250 election leaflets containing misleading information that voters do not need photo ID.

The leaflet said: “You don’t need to take any ID in order to vote, so long as you are registered.”

The leaflet was sent out by Tory party members in Norwich ahead of the local elections on 4 May. Next week’s elections are the first in the UK - outside of trials - which will require a form of photo ID.

Emma Corlett, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Group on Norfolk County Council, tweeted a picture of the leaflet saying: “Norwich tories telling voters they don’t need to take ID to polling station. Delivered in my division (a strong labour area) this afternoon.”

Party officials blamed a “printing error” for the misleading information.

A spokesperson for the Norwich Conservative Federation said: “We would like to express our regret for any confusion resulting from the printing error caused by the unintended use of an incorrect template.

“Our assessment suggests that approximately 250 leaflets were disseminated in Norwich before the issue was identified.

“To rectify the situation, we will produce new copies of the leaflet with accurate information and guarantee that they are delivered to the households that received the incorrect version.”

The Electoral Commission responded in a tweet saying: “Voters will need to bring an accepted form of ID with them to vote next Thursday. The local council are aware of the issue, and the local party has acknowledged that they have made an error.

“Voters deserve accurate information about taking part in elections”.

Users on Twitter questioned what “sanctions” have been imposed on the party.

Dan Gregroy tweeted: “Fine words but will there be any sanctions? I would begin by disqualifying all the Tory candidates as a warning to future malfeasance.”

Lib Dem local government spokesperson Helen Morgan has called on Tory chairman Greg Hands to launch an inquiry.

She said this mishap from the Tories “shows they are treating voters with contempt” and the party needs to “get to the bottom of how these misleading leaflets were printed and distributed.”

She added: “Not content with disenfranchising people through their divisive and unnecessary voter ID plans, it appears the Conservatives have been wrongly telling people they don’t need photo ID to vote. The Conservative Party must launch a proper inquiry to get to the bottom of how these highly misleading leaflets were printed and distributed.”

Controversial new rules brought in by the government mean that for the first time ever in the UK, anyone voting in person must produce photo ID.

It has emerged that just 4% of the estimated two million people without photo ID applied for a government-approved voter authority certificate before the deadline.

A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission said: “While increases in awareness of the voter ID requirement have been strong, voter authority certificate applications were lower than might have been expected. This may reflect the number of people wanting to vote in these elections, take-up of postal or proxy voting, or that some voters have not taken action in time for the deadline.

“We will consider the levels of take-up and the reasons for this as part of our evaluation of the implementation of voter ID.”