A senior borough councillor has spoken out against plans to introduce voter ID to elections from next year.

Cllr Clive English, the leader of the Lib Dem group on Maidstone council, said: "It is a solution to fix a non-existent problem."

He said: "I for one do not wish to be associated in any way with what amounts to voter suppression, which will also cost quite a bit of money."

In a change of law, the government says voters will have to provide photo ID to prove their identity when they turn up at the polling booth.

Acceptable forms of ID will include a photo driving licence, a passport, an MoD identity card, or a Blue Badge parking permit photo ID.

The government recognises that not everyone will have one of those forms of ID, so it is requiring councils to make an alternative form of ID available.

Maidstone council is offering to supply a free voter card that will be available from January 16 onwards.

The government will reimburse the council for the cost.

The UK has a very low level of electoral fraud compared with most countries.

In 2021, there were only 315 allegations of fraud across the country but, following police investigations, none resulted in a conviction.

Two people in Kent accepted a caution: a woman who used her mother's polling card to vote in an election, and her father who encouraged her to do so.

Those opposed to voter ID fear it will effectively disenfranchise those who have not thought ahead and cannot produce ID at the polling booth.

'Poorer communities will be disadvantaged'

Cllr English said: "There have been so few substantiated allegations of electoral fraud in the United Kingdom.

"Those that have taken place – in Tower Hamlets and Birmingham to name the two significant examples – have both involved postal vote fraud.

"Voter ID would not address fraud in postal ballots.

"There have been very few examples of personation at an actual polling station in the UK, so this is a solution in search of a problem.

"The likely effect is that those in poorer communities will be substantially disadvantaged, as these groups will have fewer available ID documents."

Cllr English said: "It is hard to escape the conclusion that for the government this is actually the major advantage of the change rather than a drawback."

Angela Woodhouse, returning officer for Maidstone council said: “Everyone’s vote counts and we want to ensure everyone who is eligible can vote in May 2023.

"We are asking voters to be prepared before they go to the polling station and remember to take a valid form of photo ID with them so that they can cast their vote.”

To find out more about voter photo ID, visit here.

The next elections will be on May 4.