£1,000 fine for failing to join the Electoral Register? What’s going on here?
A short while ago, the plan was to knock people off the electoral register – now it seems the Conservative Government wants to fine you £1,000 if you’re not on it.
It isn’t very long since the Conservative Government was trying to kick people off the Electoral Register – changing the conditions of registration to cut down the number of people eligible to vote.
Should we conclude from the administration’s current behaviour that this tactic has achieved its objective – the 2015 general election and the EU referendum are both in the past, and the figures on which they plan to gerrymander constituency boundaries in their favour have been finalised (as far as they are concerned) – and the plan is now to screw those people who aren’t on the Register with a £1,000 fine?
That seems the only explanation for the flurry of correspondence from the government – as described by a personal friend to This Writer earlier today.
He asked: “Have you heard of this recent trend of the government sending out electoral roll forms to people, threatening them with a £1,000 fine if they refuse to fill out the form?
“When did this come into effect? And is it legally legit, or are they just banking on peoples fear and ignorance like the TV licence people? On the gov.uk website it says the fine is £80. On the letters, it says it’s £1,000 – and most of the information theyre asing for is racial/citizen/nationality related.”
Does anybody have information about this?
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Seems this is a zealous data gathering exercise to pinpoint their election strategy. Whoever said the Tories don’t look to the future!
If they’ve managed to get a letter to them, they obviously know where they are, so enrol them automatically ?
The £1,000 fine is if you do not return the Household Enquiry Form (HEF) which is to give details of all occupants of a residence who may be eligible to register on the electoral roll. Eligibility is ascertained by age, nationality (this includes British, Commonwealth and EU citizens) and permanent residency, i.e. whether you wish to use this address as your U.K. address for the purposes of voting. The HEF should be returned with the names of all the people currently living there even if there is no one eligible to vote at the property because then it is noted on the electoral register, which is updated annually. There are no questions on the form referring to race, religion, or ethnicity. The £80 fine is if the Invitation To Register (ITR) form is not returned by the named individual. This form should be filled out by every person wishing to register to vote and it asks their Date of Birth (can register at 16 in readiness to vote at 18) and their National Health Insurance Number (as proof of eligibility). These are checked before your name is added to the electoral roll. The annual updating of information to the electoral register is an exercise in transparency and accountability which should be welcomed and supported by all of us who hope to keep democracy alive and kicking. Local authorities are responsible for requesting that all eligible voters register and vary rarely are the fines imposed (some might think we should be tougher) and unlike other countries, e.g. Australia, we don’t insist that people actually go out and vote.
You seem knowledgeable about this – are you involved in the running of this system?
Why is the £1,000 fine not mentioned except on the form?
Why are the conditions under which the £80 fine is imposed not mentioned on the website?
I’ll check back the exact wording on race, religion or ethnicity with my contact.
What a great way to make some cash
Mike my severely disabled son has been hit with this threat too – he has registered to vote FOUR times in the past 2 years. His council here in Norfolk even made it impossible for him to register to vote by post because of his disabilities he cannot read and write and he could not visit the offices in person so they said he couldnt have a postal vote!
2 months ago he got another letter demanding he register AGAIN to vote – or face a £1000 fine.
How is this not a breach of human rights for a disabled person – being denied access to a vote? How many times must a 26 year old disabled man register to vote before he is considered a ‘voter’?
The system is a joke – it really is – I haven’t had time to appeal this yet. And I very much doubt he will be hit with a “fine” so I will keep you posted if he is.
There are millions (of potential Corbyn supporters) who don’t want contact with the authorities for many understable reasons.
For fear of being chased for their debts, targetted for moonlighting, located and targetted for overdue CSA payments, etc. etc. etc. I’m sure you could think of many more. An aspect of voter registration which is rarely if ever covered by the Tory and Torylite media. Surprise, surprise.
Have the Tories now decided to run with another facet to what they’d term the behaviour of “scroungers and ne’erdowells” and to use the results to brand the people involved as irresponsible OR if it isn’t successful at raising revenue….
…and I think more likely, to raise the bar even higher and deter even more millions (of potential Corbyn supporters) from registering to vote, blame it all on bogus ‘apathy’. The end result being to allow them into government again with an even further reduced percentage of a further reduced in size electorate?
Hi Mike, I have been getting these letters threatening £1000.00 fine as well as threats of action taken against me which will give me a criminal record. First it must be noted that everybody is required to “respond”, so that writing ‘B******cks’ across the form is technically a legal response to the GovCorporations impertinent demands.
At the time of the GovCorps disgusting CV census run by the US military industrial behemoth Lockheed Martin, I wrote across the highly intrusive document: “Private and Confidential” and sent it back to them.
My view since the Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, and Syria outrages is that the Government Corporation is 100% illegitimate: Has been since WW2. And so, since consent is tricked/stolen from us by the tactic of our “registering” to vote, or our children rendered vulnerable to SS predation, as well as GovCorp control by being coerced into “registering” our children, I decided to withdraw my consent to allow government by refusing to register to vote. None of these wars are ethical or legal, so why should we accede to being forced to vote for party selected candidates who operate solely in the interests of the Banks and Corporations that seek profit and hegemony through war while impoverishing and causing the death of the poorest. The £1000.00 fine is a coercive measure to keep we farm animals in line. Think about it; look into the companies’ lists, and you will see that every institution of government is a incorporated (under the Vatican) business, operating for profit, just look it up. Every ministry, including the ministry of justice (which, when I looked had CCJ’s against it). The political parties are companies, the MP’s (COE’s) are companies, The police services are companies, and on and on and on right up to EU. Yes, the EU is a corporation, as is the UN, the UK, the United States Of America; all corporations operating for profit. I have read that our post codes are an instrument that places us all under the District of Columbia authority, so far has this gone. This is all common knowledge, yet so few people care that we are governed by a body with no more right that Currys or Pizza Hut or any other well known business brand. Taxes are even unlawful as everything is prepaid by global consensus. PAYE is effectively a high crime against humanity and God. Well, people must act according to conscience I suppose, but our governance is nothing like people believe.
If all these organisations are profit-seeking corporations, they are REALLY, REALLY BAD AT IT.
The UK Government is £1.6 trillion in debt, remember.
Taxation is a way of validating your currency (the pound) as a means of exchange – read Modern Monetary Theory.
If you pay your taxes, of course, then the government won’t care whether you choose to exercise your democratic right to try to get rid of it.
That £80 is just another penalty charge which councils will use as a revenue stream. Joins those imposed for accidentally dropping a bus ticket on the ground or not clearing up after Rover.
another example of no joined up thinking by this Government.
https://www.gov.uk/electoral-register/overview
23 Sept 2016
What happens if you don’t register
You must register to vote if you’re asked to do so and you meet the conditions for registering, eg you’re 16 or over and you’re British or a national of an EU or Commonwealth country.
If you’re asked to register and don’t do so, your local Electoral Registration Office could fine you £80.
You won’t be fined if you have a valid reason for not registering, eg a long stay in hospital, or you have severe learning difficulties.
So when did Parliament decide to make fines £1,000?