Highland MP and SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford compares Boris Johnson to a 'tin-pot dictator' during Prime Minister's Questions – he claimed the unneccessary 'Trumpian' voter ID Bill will disenfranchise voters from marginalised communities
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A Ross-shire MP has compared Prime Minister Boris Johnson to a "tin-pot dictator"
Ian Blackford, the MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber and the SNP's Westminster leader, was speaking during Prime Minister's Questions.
He has urged the Prime Minister to withdraw his “Trumpian” voter ID Bill which he described as an unnecessary policy which would prevent and deter millions of people from voting.
Mr Blackford challenged the Prime Minister to withdraw the “vote-rigging proposals”, which he said would disenfranchise many voters from marginalised communities.
“Boris Johnson must withdraw his Trumpian Voter ID bill immediately. It is a completely unnecessary move,” he said.
“This isn't about fixing voter fraud. That issue barely exists. It's about fixing the system to favour the Tories and their friends. The Tory government is robbing people of their democratic right to vote by introducing voter suppression measures, which would act as a barrier that could prevent and deter millions of people from voting.
“The Electoral Reform Society says it could lead to voter disenfranchisement on an industrial scale and evidence suggests it will hit working class communities, BAME communities and other already marginalised groups in society.”
An estimated 3.5 million people in the UK do not have a form of photo ID while 11 million people do not have a passport or driver’s licence.
Mr Blackford said: “It’s not just the SNP that has fears about this. Members of the Prime Minister’s own party have called his plans ‘an illogical and illiberal solution to a non-existent problem’.
“The Prime Minister must withdraw these vote-rigging proposals immediately - instead of continuing down this path like some kind of Tin-Pot dictator.”
