TORY MSP Stephen Kerr was left red-faced in a debate on incoming voter identification laws after he attempted to defend the UK Government's policy.
During a debate on the Elections Bill, which is currently undergoing its second reading in the House of Lords, MSPs picked apart the policy and the likelihood it will disenfranchise millions of voters.
But, the Scottish Conservatives stood as the only party defending the policy in Holyrood - even when it was pointed out to them multiple times that the number of voter fraud convictions are minuscule.
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The SNP led the debate with a motion stating that Holyrood would not give consent to the Bill when the time comes.
However, when it came to Labour's turn to speak in the debate, who backed the Scottish Government and added an amendment which said Westminster Tories are attempting to "manipulate democracy in its favour", a row erupted with Kerr.
Neil Bibby, Scottish Labour MSP for West Scotland region, said that the Bill and the motivations behind it were a "disgrace".
He said: "I’m afraid it represents a Trumpian attempt to rig democracy in favour of the conservative party who are desperately trying to cling on to power.
"Stephen Kerr says it strengthens our democracy, it is an attack on fundamental democratic freedoms aimed at stifling opposition and deterring participation in the democratic process.
"Tory MSPs would not defend the indefensible over Boris Johnson’s parties in Downing Street, you should not be defending the indefensible now Mr Kerr."
Kerr interjected with his disagreement to the phrase Trumpian before the Deputy Presiding Officer told him that was "enough".
Kerr said: "In terms of Trumpian - what is Trumpian about facilitating it that all disabled people have a right to vote according to their needs? What is Trumpian about reducing undue influence and political finance notional expenditure in this country?
"What is Trumpian about disqualifying people who intimidate candidates?"
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Bibby swiftly responded: "I tell you what’s Trumpian Mr Kerr. It's suggesting there’s widescale voter ID fraud in this country where there isn’t.
"I asked you how many times there were convictions for voter impersonation in the 2019 general election out of 59 million electors.
"How many cases was it? One.
"One out of 59 million, so it is Trumpian to suggest there is widescale voter fraud when that is the level of convictions that we saw in 2019.
Kerr was left red-faced during the debate on the UK Elections Bill in Holyrood
"Presiding Officer you’re literally more likely to get struck by lightning three times than convict voter fraud in this country."
The SNP's George Adam, who moved the motion on behalf of the Scottish Government, told MSPs that the voter ID policy will "make another barrier for individuals going to the polling station".
Adam added that the policy is opposed to that of the Scottish Government, who opened up the voting franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds and foreign nationals at the last Holyrood election.
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He added: "We should not be obliged to adapt our law to whatever the UK government considers appropriate, especially where there is no evidence base or compelling argument for that change."
Maggie Chapman, for the Scottish Greens, agreed that the policy "runs counter to the direction of travel" of Scottish legislation on electoral reform.
She told the Chamber: "Why put another barrier in the way? One answer to this is perhaps the UK Government knows the people who will be excluded because of these measures will be very unlikely to vote for them. Voter suppression."
Kerr's amendment supporting the UK Government fell with 29 votes for and 90 against.
Bibby's amendment passed with 90 votes for yes and 30 for no.
The Government motion passed as amended with 90 votes for yes and 30 for no.
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