A controversial policy to oblige all voters to show photo ID before voting in future elections will cost around £40m in extra government spending over a decade, Labour has said, calling the policy “a total waste of taxpayers’ money”. The government has committed to the policy, which ministers say will make elections more secure by cracking down on in-person voter fraud. But critics say this is a negligent plan, and mandatory ID could exclude would-be voters. There are concerns that even with government plans to issue free ID to people lacking the necessary documentation, it will prove a hurdle for more vulnerable voters, including older or disabled people, or those who are homeless. Some civil rights groups have warned the plan amounts to voter suppression. The Labour calculation is based on government estimates for how much the ID scheme will cost at elections, and official figures and responses to freedom of information requests about money already spent on pilot schemes. Various trials of voter ID, ranging from people simply having to present polling cards to mandatory photo documents such as passports or driving licences, took place in a series of English council districts at local elections in 2018 and 2019. The 2018 pilot cost about £1.7m in all, with the second pilot totalling nearly £1.9m. The estimate for the cost of administering photo ID nationwide for general elections is £17,900,000 each time, with Labour working on the assumption of two elections over the time period. “The policy is set to cost millions of pounds at every election,” said Cat Smith, Labour’s shadow cabinet office minister. “Voting is safe and secure in Britain. Ministers should be promoting confidence in our elections instead of spreading baseless scare stories which threaten our democracy. “Millions of people lack photo ID in this country – in particular the elderly, low income and black, Asian and ethnic minority voters. The Conservatives are reversing decades of democratic progress and urgently need to rethink this pointless policy.” Opponents say the offence of impersonating another voter at a polling station is virtually nonexistent across the UK. From 2010-16, spanning two general elections and the EU referendum, there were 146 allegations with seven people convicted, five in a single case. Announcing the plan in this month’s Queen’s speech, the government said while people would have to show photo ID, this could also include the likes of travel passes and blue badge disability parking permits. While a study commissioned by the Cabinet Office found 98% of adults possessed at least one of these types of ID, this fell to 96% where the photo was still definitely recognisable, meaning about 2.1 million people risked missing out. While the ID policy will cover all UK voters in general elections, those in Northern Ireland have had to show ID to vote since 1985, and photo ID from 2003. This was connected to sectarian-based attempts to rig elections through multiple votes. A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “Voter fraud is a crime we cannot allow room for. Showing identification to vote will combat the inexcusable potential for it to take place in our current system. “Many countries around the world operate a system which requires voters to show identification, including Canada, France, the Netherlands, and here in the UK in Northern Ireland. “It is vital that any change to nationwide policy is implemented properly and further details will be set out in due course.”