Overview
- Reform UK published its Election Integrity Bill on Friday outlining amendments it wants the government to adopt that would change voter eligibility, language rules and postal voting.
- Key measures include removing the vote for qualifying Commonwealth citizens, limiting election materials to languages of the British Isles or specified accessible formats, and requiring polling‑station checks of English comprehension.
- The bill would sharply curtail postal voting to a small set of exceptions and make so‑called "family voting" illegal by increasing supervision of voters in polling places.
- Party officials led by Danny Kruger framed the proposals as restoring electoral integrity in the face of immigration and alleged postal‑vote abuse, while critics say the rules would block non‑English speakers and millions of postal voters from participation.
- Legal and political hurdles are likely because nearly 10 million people used postal votes in the 2024 general election, the measures would reverse long‑standing Commonwealth voting rights, and the amendments are described as unlikely to be taken up by the government.