Reform UK plans to bring in draconian new laws which could exclude millions from voting and would make it hard for non-English speakers to take part in elections.
Nigel Farage’s party has published its “Election Integrity Bill” and has demanded that the government take its proposals as amendments to existing legislation going through parliament, but it is almost certain they won’t be.
The Reform UK proposals include removing the historic right to vote of Commonwealth citizens, ensure that election material is only published in languages native to the British Isles, such as English, Welsh or Gaelic, or accessible communication formats such as Braille or BSL.
There is also a proposal to force staff at polling stations to police whether people would have sufficient English to vote.
Mr Farage also wants to introduce limits on postal voting, and enforce new protections against voter coercion and control – so-called “family voting”.
The purpose of the bill appears to be aimed at excluding people with low levels of English from taking part in UK elections.
The double effect of banning non-native British languages from election literature and ending postal voting would make it hard for many to take part in the democratic process.
Reform UK’s proposals are the latest in a raft of nationalist policies, which also include proposals for mass deportations and banning non-British citizens from receiving council housing.
Head of Reform UK’s Department for Preparing for Government Danny Kruger said: “With every election, our democracy is being systematically eroded. Britain’s electoral system – once the envy of the world – now buckles under the strain of uncontrolled immigration. In too many parts of the country, elections have been captured by foreign conflicts and sectarian interests, not by what is best for Britain.
“Reform UK will not stand by while our political system is undermined. Britain should be run in the interests of the British people. That’s why we are introducing these changes to save our democracy.”
Mr Farage and his allies, from when he was leader of UKIP, the Brexit Party and now Reform UK, have long had concerns with postal voting, where they have consistently lost out to more established parties, particularly Labour, in by-elections.
In 2019, they claimed that Labour beat the Brexit Party in Peterborough because of election fraud and demanded an investigation by the police.
Critics have argued that the failure of parties led by Mr Farage to have properly organised ground campaigns is the real reason they lose out, rather than their allegations that it is harvesting of ethnic minority groups.
But if postal voting was to be restricted, it could exclude millions from taking part in the democratic process. In the 2024 general election, almost 10 million people used postal votes.
Reform also alleges that other forms of cheating are being used by their opponents.
Earlier this year they highlighted allegations of so-called “family voting” in the Gorton and Denton by-election won by the Green Party’s Hannah Spencer.
Reform has also opposed lowering the age of voting to 16 in the current legislation that Labour is taking through parliament.
Mr Kruger pointed to a House of Commons report in 2012 which stated that Britain’s electoral system made it “childishly simple” to commit fraud as a result of Tony Blair’s reforms which liberalised postal voting.
Reform stated: “These concerns have yet to be addressed, with the arrival of the Boriswave accelerating the undermining of British democracy through massive numbers of non-citizens voting, foreign language-based campaigning, and coercive voting.”
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “This is yet another desperate attempt by Reform to deflect attention from the scandals Nigel Farage and his top team are drowning in. It’s time he came clean with the public over his secret £5m ‘gift’ and rid his party of the enormous amount of sleaze and scandals that have come to light.
“The integrity of our democratic system is something Labour will always protect. That’s why we’re taking tough action to safeguard our democracy through the Representation of the People Bill. Meanwhile, Reform wants to stop people voting if they go on holiday, despite Nigel Farage having voted by post himself. As ever, it’s one rule for him and another for everyone else.”
UNISON national officer Clare Williams said: “These proposals risk dividing communities, making it harder for people entitled to vote to exercise that right.
“They also put already-stretched council staff in an impossible position by making on-the-spot judgements about whether someone speaks a sufficient standard of English. It’s an unnecessary responsibility that could create chaos at polling stations.
“Election turnout is already too low. Putting further restrictions on postal voting will make it even harder for some people to participate in the democratic process.
“Politicians should be finding ways to encourage voting, not putting up new barriers. Concentrating on issues affecting everyone’s daily lives like the cost-of-living crisis and fixing public services should be a far bigger concern.”
