Democracy Defence Coalition

The #QueensSpeech was full of platitudes and vague noises when it came to housing, cost of living, and the environment. Yet the dangers were more clearly expressed: attacks on human rights and on democracy.

Say hello to the newly formed APPG for Fair Elections. This cross-party group is fighting for: ⚖️ Proportional representation 💰 Restrictions on dark money in politics 🤔 Countering harmful political disinformation Read more about our plans 👇 fairvote.uk/work/appg-fair…

Supportive of @unlockdemocracy @electoralreform @openbritainhq @fairvoteuk & others against govt #VoterID.  It’s voter suppression, discriminating against the young & disadvantaged. No ID? Then use: gov.uk/apply-for-phot… #ScrapVoterID

Did you know that the upcoming #LocalElections 2023 are the first elections held in the UK that will require voters to show ID to be able to vote? 🗳️🆔 Here is our extensive guide to what #voterID will mean for you 👇

A fascinating map from @UnlockDemocracy @electoralreform @OpenBritainHQ and @fairvoteuk showing how many potential voters in each region could be disenfranchised. Estimate = 2.1 million. If you care, if you want to help decide the next Govt, make sure you have #VoterID in time.

During the voter ID pilots, they tested both poll cards with barcodes and the option of two pieces of non-photo ID if you didn’t have a photo ID. But the most restrictive requirement was the option the government decided to go with. electoral-reform.org.uk/all-the-ways-t…

The government is rejecting fair compromise on voter ID: ❌ Refused to expand the list of IDs (no student ID) ❌ Rejected Canadian-style "vouching" ❌ Rejected more lenient schemes They're insisting on suppressing as many votes as possible.

The Government is having few successes, if any, bigger than its attempts to reduce the potential for likely opponents to be able to vote through over bureaucratic, and hugely expensive (£180m), requirements for Photo ID at polling stations. #voterID

The Lords have a chance to cause a rethink on #voterid today. The current voter proposals are unnecessary, may lead to many people not voting and will put the system under real strain twitter.com/TobySJames/sta… Surely there are other pressing problems facing the country right now?

A quick recap on the facts about #voterid and fraud in Britain....

Govt accused of undermining @ElectoralCommUK's crucial independence and impartiality with no rationale or "independent evidence". From the @CommonsLUHC report:

The government have finally published the list of ID they will allow you to use to vote - six of the Government-accepted IDs are specifically targeted at older people, while almost none are aimed at younger people. bylinetimes.com/2022/11/07/vot…

Voter ID is a blatant attempt to exclude certain demographics from voting, all under the guise of "electoral reform". It's dishonest, undemocratic, and disgraceful.

16-year-olds could be registered to vote when they are issued with their National Insurance Number, so they are ready to vote at the first opportunity. democraticaudit.com/2020/04/29/it-…

This needs to be a bigger story. @ElectoralCommUK is the UK's last line of defence against shady campaign finance violations and dark money. This quiet stripping away of its powers and independence is incredibly dangerous. The Commission themselves have warned us explicitly:

Voter ID in Britain How it started How its going

We and others in the @DemDefCoalition warned from the start about this exact situation. The #ElectionsBill was bad policy in every possible sense. We'll keep pushing for REAL electoral reform.

That’s it for the Public Order Bill tonight. See you back here for more updates during future stages?

Second division — Ayes 292, Noes 202. So the Public Order Bill has had its Second Reading and now proceeds to the Committee Stage.

Second Reading of the Public Order Bill has started! Follow along here — for at least some of it. (I’ll be taking a break sometime between 6pm and 7pm.) A thread…