ABOUT 6,000 people in Wirral could lose their chance to make their voice heard because of the government’s decision to rush through individual electoral registration.

Against the advice of the independent Electoral Commission, the government announced in July to move forward 12 months the final deadline for the transition to the new system to December this year.

At the general election this May, there were about 6,000 voters in Wirral who had not registered individually, and I am concerned that they could be left off the register in December this year.

The new register will be used as the basis for the next boundary review of constituencies, so it is important that it is accurate and that people are registered to vote.

Some 6.4 per cent of homeowners are not on the electoral register, yet the figure for private renters is a massive 36.7 per cent.

Rushing through the changes risks making it harder for ‘generation rent’ to vote.

According to the government’s own figures, there were about 1.5 million voters in England and 5,852 voters in Wirral who had not yet registered to vote individually by May of this year.

Under the old system, the head of household would register everyone in a house. Now people need to register individually.

To register, go to wirral.gov.uk/elections-and-voting/register-vote or call 01516 918046.

Margaret Greenwood, MP for Wirral West.