Boris Johnson on Thursday thanked three villagers who forced him away from a polling station after he tried to vote without valid ID.
The former First Minister said he was told by poll workers that he would not be allowed to vote in the South Oxfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner election unless he proved his identity.
In a column for the Daily Mail, the former prime minister said he had tried to use a copy of the Prospect magazine as identification but was turned down by local election authorities.
“When I showed up at the polls on Thursday with no identification other than my name and the cover of Prospect magazine, the three people who rightfully turned me away turned me away. I would like to pay special tribute to the villagers.”The address was printed on it.
“I showed it to them and they looked very suspicious… Within minutes I was back with my driving license and voted Conservative.”
The requirement to bring a photo ID was a provision in the Elections Act that Mr Johnson introduced in 2022 while in Downing Street.
Thursday’s election was the first time many voters in England and Wales were required to show ID to vote, under rules introduced at last year’s local elections.
Acceptable forms of ID include passports, driving licences, Standard Scheme of Age (Pass) cards, Blue Badges and some discount travel cards.
Downing Street said it would “consider” changing the rules to allow veterans’ ID cards to be added to the list of valid forms of identification.
This comes after Veterans Affairs Secretary Johnny Mercer apologized to ex-servicemen who were prevented from using their Veterans Cards to vote in local elections in England.
Ministers acknowledged that only a limited number of forms of identification were accepted, particularly documents such as bus passes for older people, but other documents such as travel passes and student documents, which were rarely issued to young people. has faced criticism for the decision.
