Labour metro mayors liken ID photo rules to US ‘voter suppression tactics’

Thousands of voters in the May local elections are at risk of being disenfranchised because of “cynical” rule changes that make photo ID compulsory, Labour’s metro mayors argue.

Mayors including Sadiq Khan in London, Tracy Brabin in West Yorkshire and Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester have come together to raise awareness of changes they say are a “brazen assault on our democracy”.

The same system will be in place on 2 May when voters in England and Wales head to the polls to elect about 2,600 local authority councillors, 39 police and crime commissioners and 10 metro mayors.

All seven current Labour metro mayors have signed a joint letter condemning the changes and encouraging people to make sure they take valid photo ID.

Rees-Mogg told the National Conservatism conference: “Parties that try and gerrymander end up finding their clever scheme comes back to bite them, as, dare I say, we found by insisting on voter ID for elections.

The mayors point out that people without valid photo ID can go online and get it for free, but the deadline to apply for a voter authority certificate is Wednesday 24 April.