THERE is a widespread belief that the Westminster proposal to require photo ID to exercise the right to vote is designed to restrict the ability to vote of many of the most disadvantaged, who cannot afford such things as passports or driving licences. I suspect there might also be unintended consequences for the Tories themselves.
We are told that folk are living longer. We are also told that the older demographic provides the core of Conservative voters. As many of these folk, in spite of living longer, tend to have more health problems, a high proportion have by the age of around 80 stopped driving and going abroad for holidays, meaning that they no longer have items of photo ID.
READ MORE: Peter Geoghegan: UK election laws are broken – but voter ID will solve nothing
The proposals would therefore mean that, having perhaps voted Tory all their lives, they would no longer be able to vote for however many more years they lived.
As a case in point, several members of the older generation of my family lived 10 to 15 years after giving up these forms of ID, and would have been deprived of their democratic right, which some of them had exercised previously by voting for the likes of Jock Bruce-Gardyne. Horror of horrors! Some might in future turn to independence to restore these rights!
Have Boris, Union Jack and DRoss factored this into their proposals?
L McGregor
Falkirk
AFTER the very recent demonstration of gunboat diplomacy by Westminster in relation to the Channel Isles fishing dispute, I’m wondering what response and scale of danger that they see fit to initiate with respect to Belarus act of hijacking a Ryanair flight?
This act of state terrorism is worthy of the most serious response. However, we may wait a long time to for any actions to be applied, unlike the gunboat fiasco.
Dougie Gray
via email
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