Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what comparative assessment he has made of the estimates made by (a) Experian and (b) the Electoral Commission of the number of unregistered voters in the UK.

Greg Clark

The Government funded the Electoral Commission’s 2011 research into the completeness and accuracy of the electoral register. This informed the approach to the transition to Individual Electoral Registration, including the use of data matching to confirm the majority of current electors on the existing register without their having to make a new application, and the phasing of the transition over two years, which means no one who registered to vote at the last canvass will lose their right to vote at the General Election. Alongside this the Government is funding all local authorities in Great Britain and five national organisations to take steps to boost the completeness and accuracy of the register.