Select committee: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 55
2nd Report – Review of the 2024 general election
Published 22 Jul 2025
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee Review of the 2024 general election All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
Our assessment is that the longer voter ID prevails the more it will become accepted, reducing, though not removing, the prevention and discouragement effect. It is unfortunate that data was not regularly collected at polls in Northern Ireland, in particular following the introduction of photo ID there in 2003. The Government should consider what data it is necessary to routinely collect at elections to properly evaluate the effectiveness of the voter ID requirements. This could include what forms of ID are used (preferably broken down by age group), the reasons for refusing an ID, how many people are turned away for not having ID, and how many do not return. (Conclusion, Paragraph 148)
From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, 2nd Report – Review of the 2024 general election (HC 487), 22 July 2025
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 16 October 2025 (deadline 22 September 2025).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government's response supports some of the Committee's principles and agrees with some recommendations, but declines or does not consider necessary several others, citing the independence of Returning Officers, cost and the priority of manifesto commitments.
- On consolidating electoral law, the Government says major reform "would require careful consideration and an extensive amount of time" and "would be the job of more than one Parliament", and says it is focused on its manifesto agenda.
- On voter ID, it agrees with the recommendation on digital IDs and intends to create a digital VAC, and will amend legislation to permit UK-issued bank cards as accepted voter identification in Great Britain.
- On postal voting, it considers printing ballot packs on a rolling basis "impractical", and says first-class postage for poll cards would cost about £52 million for a UK Parliamentary election, which it would not consider "a viable option" at this time.
- On the Electoral Commission, the Government has "no plans to establish an independent review" of its powers, but intends reforms including raising its maximum fine to £500,000 and extending its civil sanctioning powers to political finance offences by candidates, local third parties and recall petition campaigners.