Police in England on alert for polling day rage over voter ID rules

Fears that number of people turned away at May’s local elections over identity could be underestimated

Police forces have been alerted to the risk of a spike in disputes and confrontations at the forthcoming local elections, amid concern that new voter ID rules will provoke rows in polling booths across England.

Polling station staff are being trained to de-escalate heated situations expected to arise next month, when many more people than usual are likely to be turned away as a result of new identity checks.