Good Law Project issues letter before action against Secretary of State over “arbitrary” new Voter ID rules – Local Government Lawyer

‘Campaign organisation Good Law Project has sent a letter before action to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, regarding his response to a report by the Electoral Commission on the impact of the voter ID requirements.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th February 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Britons living abroad regain right to vote in UK elections as 15-year rule ends – The Guardian

Posted January 16th, 2024 in domicile, elections, news, time limits by tracey

‘An estimated 3 million Britons living abroad for more than 15 years will regain their right to vote in all elections in the UK from Tuesday, ending 20 years of broken promises by successive UK governments.’

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The Guardian, 16th January 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Labour seeking to delay antisemitism leak lawsuit until after election – The Guardian

‘Labour is seeking to delay until after the general election a court case against five former staff alleging they leaked a report concerned with the party’s handling of antisemitism complaints, as its costs were said to have apparently soared to £1.4m.’

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The Guardian, 6th October 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Research Briefing: Voter ID – House of Commons Library

Posted September 19th, 2023 in elections, identification, identity fraud, news by sally

‘Voters must now show photo ID at UK Parliamentary elections, police and crime commissioner elections and at local elections in England. This briefing looks at the background to voter ID in the Great Britain.’

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House of Commons Library, 18th September 2023

Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk

Hundreds of thousands face exclusion over voter ID laws, UK watchdog says – The Guardian

Posted September 13th, 2023 in elections, equality, government departments, identification, news by tracey

‘Warning policy could disproportionately effect poorer people, those with disabilities and those from minority ethnic backgrounds.’

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The Guardian, 13th September 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Electoral Commission apologises for security breach involving UK voters’ data – The Guardian

Posted August 9th, 2023 in data protection, elections, electoral register, news, Russia by tracey

‘Confidence in the UK’s electoral regulator has been thrown into question after it emerged a hostile cyber-attack accessing the data of 40 million voters went undetected for a year and the public was not told for another 10 months.’

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The Guardian, 8th August 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

A Date to Remember – Withdrawing Election Petitions – 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square

Posted July 5th, 2023 in chambers articles, elections, local government, news by sally

‘The prospect of an election being challenged by an election petition is something that will no doubt form the stuff of nightmares for many of the readers of this magazine. However, it may happen and the recent case of Afzal v Khan & Ors [2023] EWHC 376 (KB)1 has given the High Court the opportunity to set out the law on some of the powers an Election Court has in deciding an Election Petition, in particular as to what it should do when the Petitioner decides they no longer wish to pursue it.’

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4-5 Gray's Inn Square, 1st June 2023

Source: www.4-5.co.uk

Elections watchdog to conduct analysis of implementation of voter ID – Local Government Lawyer

Posted May 10th, 2023 in elections, identification, local government, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘The Electoral Commission has revealed it will conduct a “full report” on the May 2023 local elections, which will analyse the impact of the voter ID requirement.’

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Local Government Lawyer, May 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘I was denied my right’: voter ID rules a barrier for some in England – The Guardian

Posted May 5th, 2023 in elections, fraud, identification, local government, news by tracey

‘The introduction of voter ID in England has left a number of people, often from more marginalised groups, unable to cast ballots in local elections – although some officials’ fears of widespread chaos did not materialise.’

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The Guardian, 4th May 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

A Question of Identity – Voter Identification – 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square

‘This article is intended to serve as an update on the new voter identification rules that have been introduced as a result of the voter identity requirements provisions contained in the Elections Act 2022. Save to note that, prior to its enactment, the proposed legislation attracted considerable debate as to whether the historic level of electoral fraud, and in particular personation, within the United Kingdom justified the introduction of these requirements the author does not intend to cover the arguments for or against them.’

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4-5 Gray's Inn Square, 7th March 2023

Source: www.4-5.co.uk

Election court awards costs against petitioner in ‘dates bribe’ case – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 1st, 2023 in bribery, costs, elections, local government, news, political parties by sally

‘A rare sitting of the Election Court has agreed to withdraw a petition for a council election to be declared void after receiving “conclusive evidence” that the petitioner handed packets of dates to potential voters.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 28th February 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Tarun Khaitan: An Elected Second Chamber? Some Thoughts on the Brown Report – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted January 26th, 2023 in constitutional reform, elections, news, parliament, reports by sally

‘One of the key recommendations of the Brown Commission is to replace the House of Lords with an elected second chamber called the Assembly of the Nations and Regions. The proposal has stimulated a broad debate. A key intervention in the debate was by the Speaker of the Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, who has argued against replacing the House of Lords with a second elected chamber because—he claims—doing so would threaten the supremacy of the Commons. In this post, I will draw upon my paper in defence of “moderated parliamentarism” to argue that—if done right—this might be a welcome reform that could combine the benefits of creating a system that checks executive power better, but without being prone to US-style legislative deadlocks and governmental dysfunction. I will argue that a properly designed elected second chamber could make the quality of British democracy better, especially by doing a better job of holding the executive to account and improving the quality of legislation. To the extent that the details for this reform in the Brown Report are sketchy and not exactly thought through, the objective of this blogpost is to provide a relatively more detailed proposal—if only to explain what is at stake and what kinds of questions need to be discussed and answered.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 25th January 2023

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Research Briefing: Voter ID – House of Commons Library

Posted November 17th, 2022 in elections, fraud, identification, identity cards, news, parliament by tracey

‘The Elections Act 2022 will introduce the requirement to show photo ID at UK Parliamentary elections, police and crime commissioner elections and at local elections in England. This briefing looks at the background to voter ID in the UK.’

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House of Commons Library , 14th November 2022

Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk

Campaigning and political activity by charities: guidance – Law & Religion UK

‘On 7 November, the Charity Commission issued updated guidance for England and Wales on Campaigning and political activity by charities. It follows the passing of the Elections Act 2022, which received Royal Assent on 28 April.’

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Law & Religion UK, 9th November 2022

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Parliament’s watchdogs – UCL Constitution Unit

Posted July 14th, 2022 in boundaries, elections, news, parliament, reports, standards by tracey

‘The Constitution Unit publishes the results of a landmark investigation into the independence and accountability of parliament’s watchdogs.’

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UCL Constitution Unit, 12th July 2022

Source: www.ucl.ac.uk

New Acts – legislation.gov.uk

Posted May 17th, 2022 in elections, legislation by tracey

2022 c. 37 – Elections Act 2022

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

New Acts – legislation.gov.uk

2022 c. 28 – Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022

2022 c. 27 – Approved Premises (Substance Testing) Act 2022

2022 c. 26 – Glue Traps (Offences) Act 2022

2022 c. 22 – Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022

2022 c. 20 – Professional Qualifications Act 2022

2022 c. 17 – Local Government (Disqualification) Act 2022

2022 c. 36 – Nationality and Borders Act 2022

2022 c. 34 – British Sign Language Act 2022

2022 c. 32 – Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022

2022 c. 29 – Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Act 2022

2022 c. 24 – Cultural Objects (Protection from Seizure) Act 2022

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

New Judgment: R (on the application of Coughlan) v Minister for the Cabinet Office [2022] UKSC 11 – UKSC Blog

Posted April 28th, 2022 in elections, identification, local government, news, pilot schemes, ultra vires by sally

‘This appeal concerns a challenge brought by the Appellant to orders made by the Respondent in respect of Braintree District Council and nine other local authorities (“the Pilot Orders”). These Pilot Orders authorised schemes to temporarily change the rules set out in secondary legislation governing local elections. These schemes, which were implemented in ten local authority areas in respect of the local government elections in May 2019, each introduced a new requirement for some form of voter identification for those local elections.’

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UKSC Blog, 27th April 2022

Source: ukscblog.com

Supreme Court to issue ruling next week on lawfulness of voter ID pilot schemes – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Supreme Court will next week (27 April) issue its ruling on whether the voter identification (“ID”) pilot schemes that were implemented in the May 2019 local government elections were lawful.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 21st April 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Government defeated over voter ID plans in House of Lords – BBC News

‘The government has been defeated in the House of Lords over its plans to introduce photo ID for voters in elections.’

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BBC News, 7th April 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk