The 2017 UK General Election Thread - Voting open today from 7am - 10pm

[Dowbocop]

I don't think that price is a large amount to pay once every 10 years? And I don't know anyone who doesn't have a passport, it's not like the USA where lots of people don't bother to have one.

I didn't have a passport for five years. It expired when I was a student and I couldn't afford to go away so I didn't bother. I also didn't get any form of driving licence until 2015. There are literally no other barriers to me voting, but I would've struggled to vote in 2007 under these rules.

[Cuttooth]

Passport-£72.50
Provisional driving license-£34.00

If you're poor and you don't already have one of those are you really going to make the expense? And the conservative government isn't going to give out free ID Cards, come on now.

I don't think that price is a large amount to pay once every 10 years? And I don't know anyone who doesn't have a passport, it's not like the USA where lots of people don't bother to have one.

Apologies for selectively quoting but I can't believe this reasoning. It basically equates to "What, no-one can be that poor can they?!"

If your circumstances change within ten years and you literally can't afford the expense of getting your passport renewed because all your wages are already spent then your right to vote is tied to your poverty.

[Eighthours]

This has been a bad night for the 2 blokes on ITV. Farron's wetter than your granddad's farts, limper than a 10 day old salad.

I know I'm biased but he was rewarded with a round of applause almost every time he spoke and he intentionally generated widespread laughter across the audience at least 3 or 4 times.

Inconsequential awkward mannerisms and an unfortunate face aside, what else could he do?

I thought Farron did well, even if there was definitely one too many 'I'm from Preston / something about my family' anecdote. The down the lens approach worked well for the TV audience, and he made some good arguments.

[Eighthours]

Passport-£72.50
Provisional driving license-£34.00

If you're poor and you don't already have one of those are you really going to make the expense? And the conservative government isn't going to give out free ID Cards, come on now.

People in support of tightening voter ID laws say they want it to prevent fraud, yet we all know voter fraud isn't actually a problem. The real 'problem' they're trying to solve is poor people voting.

(EDIT: Ha, we simultaneously posted exactly the same thing.)

Tower Hamlets.

You need ID to open a bank account, get a job, get on an aeroplane - plenty of important things in life where it needs to be proven who you are. Of course we should need ID to vote.

The Tower Hamlets controversy was about postal votes and voter intimidation, neither of which would be prevented by having to present ID at a polling station.

'We all know voter fraud isn't actually a problem' - goes on to explain an example of voter fraud.

I think that postal voting should be abolished, personally, as it's way too open to manipulation. But that's another story!

[Errkal]

Wether it isn't much or not it totally irrelevant, as cuttoh
The said it ties your ability to vote to much money you have!

It's a great way for the conservatives to cut out the bottom rungs of society and not have to worry about the poverty stricken because when it comes to getting a passport or driver's license they will spend that money on food instead!

What sort of strawberry floating gooseberry fool hole evil country are we becoming that something like that is even discussed and not straight on mass rejected and evil and wrong!

[Eighthours]

Sorry guys, but you guys are clearly clueless on this matter. Loads of people would be adversely affected by that. Members of my family see poor families regularly as part of their work and you clearly don't know how the other half live. It's one of the reasons I would never vote Tory. It doesn't matter whose policy it is, it's a stupid idea.

Do these families even vote now? IIRC, stats suggest not.

[Cuttooth]

Sorry guys, but you guys are clearly clueless on this matter. Loads of people would be adversely affected by that. Members of my family see poor families regularly as part of their work and you clearly don't know how the other half live. It's one of the reasons I would never vote Tory. It doesn't matter whose policy it is, it's a stupid idea.

Do these families even vote now? IIRC, stats suggest not.

Jesus Christ.

[Rex Kramer]

If you want to introduce voter id then you introduce a free method of getting the required documentation. End of story. A person's ability to vote should not be tied to whether they can afford to.

[Errkal]

Sorry guys, but you guys are clearly clueless on this matter. Loads of people would be adversely affected by that. Members of my family see poor families regularly as part of their work and you clearly don't know how the other half live. It's one of the reasons I would never vote Tory. It doesn't matter whose policy it is, it's a stupid idea.

Do these families even vote now? IIRC, stats suggest not.

Well strawberry float it doesn't matter then does it. We should take that RIGHT away from the poor, they don't need the vote, strawberry float em, tell you what let's really solve the poor problem, we are blocking them being part of society with the vote let's extend it, why don't we round them up in poor camps were we can stop worrying about them.

[Lagamorph]

As long as it was possible to get a free form of ID then I wouldn't really have a problem with needing that ID to vote.

Then again after the year or so I've started thinking the ability to vote should be restricted to those who can pass an intelligence test at the door of the polling station to show they actually understand what the hell they're voting for.

[Moggy]

Sorry guys, but you guys are clearly clueless on this matter. Loads of people would be adversely affected by that. Members of my family see poor families regularly as part of their work and you clearly don't know how the other half live. It's one of the reasons I would never vote Tory. It doesn't matter whose policy it is, it's a stupid idea.

Do these families even vote now? IIRC, stats suggest not.

We should go back to only allowing landowners to vote.

[Nibble]

Sorry guys, but you guys are clearly clueless on this matter. Loads of people would be adversely affected by that. Members of my family see poor families regularly as part of their work and you clearly don't know how the other half live. It's one of the reasons I would never vote Tory. It doesn't matter whose policy it is, it's a stupid idea.

Do these families even vote now? IIRC, stats suggest not.

Jesus Christ.

Utterly abhorrent.

[Hypes]

strawberry floating hell Eighthours you really are one

[Knoyleo]

Sorry guys, but you guys are clearly clueless on this matter. Loads of people would be adversely affected by that. Members of my family see poor families regularly as part of their work and you clearly don't know how the other half live. It's one of the reasons I would never vote Tory. It doesn't matter whose policy it is, it's a stupid idea.

Do these families even vote now? IIRC, stats suggest not.

Classic Eighthours

[Drumstick]

I think that postal voting should be abolished, personally, as it's way too open to manipulation. But that's another story!

Not only does he want to prevent those in poverty voting, he's now trying to stop me as well.

Watch out boys, you're next.

[more heat than light]

why don't we round them up in poor camps were we can stop worrying about them.

That's in the next election's Conservative manifesto.

[Preezy]

We should have expensive voter cards so that the poor can't vote, they're generally thick and uninterested in politics anyway.

[Dowbocop]

I think that postal voting should be abolished, personally, as it's way too open to manipulation. But that's another story!

I'm on holiday for this election. How can I vote if not by post or proxy?

[Errkal]

I think postal should be made more available.

I postal vote because I am a lazy gooseberry fool, I think all votes should be postal by default and people can choose whether to go in or post it in. I think it would increase turnout because it improves options.

[Eighthours]

Sorry guys, but you guys are clearly clueless on this matter. Loads of people would be adversely affected by that. Members of my family see poor families regularly as part of their work and you clearly don't know how the other half live. It's one of the reasons I would never vote Tory. It doesn't matter whose policy it is, it's a stupid idea.

Do these families even vote now? IIRC, stats suggest not.

Well strawberry float it doesn't matter then does it. We should take that RIGHT away from the poor, they don't need the vote, strawberry float em, tell you what let's really solve the poor problem, we are blocking them being part of society with the vote let's extend it, why don't we round them up in poor camps were we can stop worrying about them.

Lol, that's really not what I was saying, but never mind.

DML said, 'Loads of people would be adversely affected by that.' The requirement to have ID to open a bank account affects people too, then.

From NatWest:

Providing the right information
Regardless of how you open an account, the information you’ll be asked to provide will be much the same. Here’s a checklist of the general requirements to open a bank account:

Identification: You’ll need to provide a valid, government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or a passport. If you don’t have either, you can get an ID card at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

So, going by what DML has said, some poor families are adversely affected in terms of being able to open a bank account because of no ID. Does this mean you think you shouldn't need ID to open one? I don't think many people would suggest that.

Clearly there should be a free or inexpensive piece of ID you can obtain if you need it to vote, but the principle of having to prove who you are at the polling station is, I think, an eminently sensible one. You have to prove it for so many other things in life, why not for something as important as an election where you are helping to decide who is in charge of the country?