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MPs have voted for a Labour Party motion criticising the government’s plans to help children and young people recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

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...

Track breaking UK Coronavirus PPE headlines on NewsNow: the one-stop shop for UK Coronavirus PPE news.

Civil society groups said the proposals could cost up to £20 million per general election.

CAMPAIGNERS and civil rights groups urged the government today to drop plans to require voters to show ID, warning that they risk “taking a sledgehammer to political engagement.” A coalition of 17 groups, including Liberty and Operation Black Vote, called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to abandon its proposals for proof of identity to be presented before a ballot can be cast, arguing that it would pull up the drawbridge for millions of voters who lack any form of photographic ID. They estimated that about 3.5 million people presently have no photographic ID and warned that the plans cou...