Impact’ Scottish General Election result

lenges in the English local authority elections on Thursday.”

Polling experts who spoke to the Sunday National suggested that the number of people in Scotland who are aware of the need for voter ID would likely increase as a General Election comes closer.

The upcoming Westminster election will be the first time many Scots will be asked to show ID in order to cast a ballot. Up to now, the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election has been the only ballot north of the Border where voter ID has been required.

The UK Government is currently running adverts in Scotland in a bid to increase awareness of the need for ID to vote and the Electoral Commission is set to run a campaign to the same effect ahead of the General Election.

In 2023, the commission reported that 14,000 people had been turned away from voting in English local elections due to the laws with expectations that the true number of people put off even trying was much higher.

DR Garland said: “We are seeing the real impact of voter ID requirements on voters this weekend. There are already numerous reports of people being prevented from exercising their basic right to vote because of this damaging policy.

“This unnecessary new law has seen a veteran, who served in Afghanistan, prevented from voting. Even Boris Johnson failed to bring the correct ID, despite being the prime minister who introduced the policy.

“Lack of awareness about voter ID could not only damage public confidence but may also influence election results. Under the Westminster electoral system, seats can be won on a handful of votes meaning this policy could ultimately impact who gets elected.

“The UK Government must either scrap this policy or ensure, at the very minimum, that there are more options available to voters, including a wider range of permissible ID and alternatives for voters on the day.”

A UK Government spokesperson pointed to a blog post from the Department for Levelling Up, which states: “We are continuing to work closely with local authorities and other partners to raise awareness both of the requirement to show identification in the polling station and of the types of identification which are accepted, including a widespread public information campaign led by the Electoral Commission.

“We are grateful for the ongoing work of local authorities and other partners to deliver these new requirements.”