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Veterans Won’t Be Able to Use Veterans’ ID Cards to Vote in General Election – Despite Rishi Sunak Claiming he is ‘Proud of Our Record Supporting’ Them After Skipping D-Day Event

A leaked memo by Veterans’ Affairs Minister Johnny Mercer revealed Rishi Sunak’s circle initially denied requests to allow the cards to be accepted over fears it would ‘open the floodgates’ to student ID cards 

Rishi Sunak was the missing man… Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and US President Joe Biden at the D-Day 80th Anniversary International Ceremony at Omaha Beach, Normandy, France, on 6 June 2024. Photo: Abaca Press/Alamy

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Veterans’ ID cards will not be accepted as a valid form of voter identification in the General Election, Byline Times can reveal – just weeks after Rishi Sunak left the 80th anniversary commemorations of D-Day early and then repeatedly claimed he is “proud of our record in supporting veterans here in the UK”.

Despite promises from both Downing Street and the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, veterans will not be able to use their cards at polling stations on 4 July.

An Electoral Commission spokesperson confirmed to Byline Times that “the list of accepted ID is set in law and has not changed since the May elections”.

During the local elections last month, decorated former Army officer Adam Diver was turned away at the polls in Lancashire because his veteran ID card was deemed “unacceptable”.

Mr Diver posted about his experience on X (formerly Twitter), which then went viral. Veterans’ Affairs Minister Johnny Mercer responded and gave assurances that plans were in place to add veterans ID cards to the list, and that they would be accepted at the UK’s next election. 

A Number 10 spokeswoman reportedly echoed Mercer’s promise, stating that “it is our intention for the new Veteran Card, which was rolled out in January, to be added to the official list”.

But, just under three weeks later, the General Election was called – now rendering that promise void. 

EXCLUSIVE

Veteran Blocked From Using Army ID to Vote ‘Was Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer’s Sergeant Major’ in Afghanistan

Adam Diver became embroiled in a row with the minister after Mercer branded a Tweet about him being denied a vote as “fake news from a fake bloke”

Josiah Mortimer

Byline Times confirmed Mr Diver’s veteran status and discovered that he had served as a non-commissioned Sergeant Major in Afghanistan alongside Mercer himself. 

Shortly after the local elections in May, The Times revealed that Mercer had lobbied Downing Street for adding veterans’ ID cards to the list of valid voter ID for elections. But, in a leaked memo written by Mercer, he claimed that Rishi Sunak’s circle denied his requests over fears that it would “open the floodgates” to student ID cards being accepted as well. 

Byline Times understands that the necessary secondary legislation required to include veterans’ cards was drafted in May and making its way through the parliamentary pipeline. But Sunak’s abrupt decision to dissolve Parliament cut that legislation short, breaking Mercer’s – and the Prime Minister’s own – promise to veterans. 

Mr Diver said it was “very disappointing” and told this newspaper that “maybe we need a person with no affiliations or allegiances to any political party for an unbiased approach to this issue”.

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