At least 37,000 people in Tayside and Fife stand to lose their vote at May’s Holyrood election, according to shock new figures.
Dundee West has the second worst drop-off rate in voter registrations in the UK, with an 11% fall in those eligible to cast their ballot compared to last year.
That equates to around 8,000 fewer people being able to have a say in the make-up of the Scottish Government than did during last May’s Westminster contest.
UK Labour deputy leader Tom Watson slammed the new, controversial system brought in by the Conservatives which he said causes a particular problem for students.
Although that would explain the Dundee drop-off, it does not account for similar sized falls in Dunfermline and West Fife and Glenrothes. Both these constituencies saw a 10% dip.
Mr Watson said: “Thousands of students have fallen off the electoral register in the last year because the Tories have mishandled the move from the old system to the new.
“That is bad for democracy and it is bad for cities like Dundee, where there is a real risk that one in every 10 people who voted in the general election will not be able to vote in the May elections this year.”
Labour estimates that around 800,000 people have fallen off the electoral register across the UK since individual sign-ups were introduced.
The UK Government previously defended the decision to finalise the individual electoral registration (IER) change in time for polls in May this year, saying it would remove “phantom voters” and reduce electoral fraud.Don’t miss outIf you want to have your say at electionsin the UK, you must be registered tovote, the Electoral Commission haswarned.
Elections to the Scottish Parliamenttake place on May 5.
In Scotland, England or Wales, youcan register to vote online at gov.uk/register-to-vote.
Registering online takes about fiveminutes.
The deadline to register to vote atMay’s Scottish Parliament elections isApril 18.