UP UNTIL 1872, the election process in the United Kingdom
was a pretty corrupt affair.
Elections were much more open to abuse as voting was often
a very public display with eligible voters showing raised hands to signify their
chosen candidate. Bribes and intimidation were commonplace, especially amongst
financially vulnerable voters.
Employers and landlords would often attend the vote, or
send a representative on their behalf to ensure that their workers or tenants
voted for their approved candidate. Voters refusing to be coerced could face
unemployment or eviction.
From 1872, until the passing of the Representation of the
People Act 1918, voting was only in person and in secret; however, following the
First World War, it was decided that those serving in the armed forces were
prevented “by reason of the nature of their occupation…from voting at a poll”
and allowed to cast an absent ballot.
Entitlement to an absent ballot for those not serving with
the armed forces was not granted until the Representation of the People Act
1948. The new Act expanded the right to an absent vote for those who genuinely
could not attend their polling station, either through physical incapacity, or
from those who would need to travel by air or sea, due to the nature of their
occupation.
Further extensions were made for voters who were otherwise
genuinely absent under the Representation of the People Act 1985, but it was not
until 2000, under Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, that application for postal
voting was made available “on demand”. And it is that “on demand” system of
postal voting which is open to widespread misuse and even corruption, and is in
urgent need of reform.
People choosing to vote via post rather than polling
station have already started to receive their postal voting ballots for next
month’s plethora of elections. In my paper, published by the UKIP Parliamentary
Resource Unit, I point to recent postal voting anomalies in the London Borough
of Tower Hamlets, Wythenshawe and Sale East, Peterborough, Burnley, Blackburn
and Birmingham, as examples of how postal voting on demand has perverted the
democratic process.
Evidence suggests that many postal voters complete and
return their voting cards within 24 hours of receiving them – which is weeks
before the actual election date and before they have had any chance to hear from
all competing candidates. As the saying goes, a week is a long time in politics,
so a lot can happen before election day and therefore public opinion can often
change.
But mass, early postal voting doesn’t allow those voters to
change their minds. And all the evidence suggests that those earlier examples
are just the tip of the iceberg.
I felt I had to write this paper following what I witnessed
at the Oldham West and Royton by election where boxes containing postal votes
were almost unanimously in support of one particular party. I knew then that
something was rotten in our system. I believe postal voting needs to return to
its origins – allowing those who are genuinely infirm and housebound, or perhaps
abroad serving in the armed forces, to have their say at the ballot
box.
What we have the moment, thanks to the Labour Party for
whom it serves best, is a system where anyone can demand to be allowed a postal
vote rather than visit a polling station. This means that some households can
have all their votes decided by one person, regardless of an individual’s own
personal political persuasions.
I have highlighted recorded incidents of postal voting
abuse in a diverse number of places across the country, and why this can lead to
a democratic deficit. I suggest that we amend the Representation of the People
Act 2000 and do away with the ludicrous system that allows postal voting “on
demand”.
This would go a long way to restoring our electoral
legitimacy and reinforce the belief that UK elections are being held in a fair
and proper manner. The legacy of postal voting will have had a profound effect
on UK electoral registers. It is therefore necessary to fully audit the
electoral register to ensure that only those eligible to vote are able to do
so.
I oppose and object to attempts to
introduce any other form of absent voting such as by online or by text, as the
legitimacy of such votes can be compromised. If I have my way, unless there is a
genuine need for a postal ballot, voters will only be able to cast their vote in
polling stations. Express.
Paul Nuttall is UKIP Deputy Leader, and MEP for the North
West.
