9 October 2019

A new report by the Electoral Commission highlights that the UK Government’s failure to act on its recommendations - made four years ago - led to the mass disenfranchisement of voters at the European elections in May.

Scott Ainslie, Green MEP for London and substitute member of the European Parliament’s Constitutional Affairs Committee, has slammed the Government for failing to act on this crucial information. He will be writing to the Government to demand a full review of the UK’s electoral framework, to ensure it is robust and genuinely fit for the future.

Scott Ainslie MEP says:

“It beggars belief that consecutive Conservative Governments had four years to reform this outdated legislation, but failed to act. They knew that EU citizens were likely to be turned away from polling booths and that British citizens overseas might lose their vote - yet they chose to plough ahead with their half-baked plans regardless of this mass disenfranchisement.

This democratic disaster has highlighted the fragility of our electoral system. We urgently need to heed warnings from the UK’s election officials, who are shouting from the rooftops that our democratic standards have been pushed to the brink.

The Electoral Commission has warned that UK electoral law is “complex and outdated, and presents real risks for voters”. Meanwhile, the Association of Electoral Administrators has also expressed “genuine concerns” about the Government’s “unrealistic” belief they can safely deliver a snap election at short notice.

This is completely unacceptable. And in the midst of a constitutional crisis - with the UK about to jump head-first into the most unpredictable and volatile general election campaign in decades - we should all be extremely concerned. The risk of voter manipulation via disinformation, profiling and foreign interference is immense. We simply can't shut our eyes to this impending crisis.

The European Parliament is doing what it can to help. Tomorrow I’ll be voting in favour of a resolution on disinformation and foreign interference in elections, making it clear that we can’t allow our democracies to be controlled by foreign powers or those with the deepest pockets.

But we also need urgent action from the UK Government. I’ll be writing to ministers to demand a full review of the UK’s electoral framework, to ensure it is robust and genuinely fit for the future. The future of our democracy is at stake.”