Last month, this website revealed that one in 50 Greenwich borough
residents could lose their right to vote under changes to the
electoral register being introduced in December.
Now it's emerged that more that the situation is worse in
neighbouring Lewisham - with more than one in 20 voters set to fall off the
register if they don't act before 1 December.
Previously, the electoral roll was compiled by one member of
each household filling in a survey form. Now, everybody who wants a vote has
to apply individually.
Figures released by Lewisham Council under the Freedom of
Information Act show that out of 195,863 voters in the borough, 10,730 face
falling off the roll when councils switch to the new system on 1 December.
As in Greenwich, it is less well-off areas of Lewisham borough
that face losing the most voters. Evelyn ward, which covers most of Deptford,
risks losing 8% of its voters; while New Cross ward is set to lose 7.5%.
Lewisham kindly supplied a breakdown of how many voters are
registered in each of these 19 wards, so these figures are more detailed than
those offered by Greenwich.
Total "red matches" - those due to come off
electoral register in 1 December 2015, as at 11 November 2015. Ward
electorates as at 1 September. Source: Lewisham Council
Lewisham staff have been working to make sure people stay on
the roll, and these efforts are highlighted in the council's figures - 1,410
people have been put on the roll since 1 September.
While it's true the change may also weed out names that
shouldn't be on the register - because they are dead, or are registered in
two different places - the Labour Party has launched a "missing
million" campaign to get people back on the electoral roll.
This isn't just out of public service - proposals to cut the number of
parliamentary constituencies from 650 to 600, which are set to
particularly affect Labour's urban heartlands, are likely to use 1 December
2015 as a reference date.
Seats in Greenwich and Lewisham are particularly under threat
from the changes, which are likely to see many more seats span borough
boundaries.
Lewisham Deptford, currently held by Vicky Foxcroft, is set to
lose 6.2% of voters. Past plans to redraw constituencies first saw the
Deptford area merged with Greenwich, before it was then joined with Rotherhithe.
Think you're not on the electoral
roll? Check with electoral offices in Lewisham, Greenwich, or anywhere else. Know you're not on the roll?
Register now.
PS.
The Freedom of Information Act, which uncovered these figures in both Greenwich
and Lewisham, is under threat. See four simple ways you can take action.
Darryl | 15 November, 2015 at 10:24 pm | Tags: election 2016, electoral register, lewisham council | Categories: lewisham council, local stuff | URL: http://wp.me/plVfU-5Jw
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Monday 16 November 2015
Lewisham voters hit with boundary changes and new voters rule that will help present Goverment cling to power
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