Green MP Caroline Lucas says millions at risk of losing right to have their voice heard

Nearly 8 million people in Britain eligible to vote in the European elections are not yet registered, campaigners have said as the deadline looms.

Research commissioned by Best for Britain, the pro-remain campaign, and undertaken by Number Cruncher Politics suggests 7.9 million eligible voters are not on the electoral roll in their local area.

The figure is based on population and nationality data, estimates of what proportion of the population is registered to vote in each region, and research from the Electoral Commission on the accuracy of the electoral register.

The Green party MP, Caroline Lucas, said: “It’s really concerning that huge swathes of people across the country who have the right to vote in the European elections this May aren’t currently registered.

“This analysis shows nearly 8 million people could be at risk of losing the right to have their voice heard at such a crucial juncture for the country’s future, with young people, private renters and EU citizens some of the groups most at risk of missing out. That needs to change. Whether you voted leave or remain, your voice needs to be heard. Get out and get registered.”

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Her words were echoed by the Labour Co-operative MP Rachael Maskell, who said: “The right to vote is one of the most important rights we hold. It creates a healthy channel of communication between communities and those tasked with representing them.”

Best for Britain, which is registered with the Electoral Commission, was founded by Gina Miller, the businesswoman who took the government to the supreme court over Brexit; she left the group after the June 2017 UK election. Its chair is Mark Malloch Brown, the former UN deputy secretary general. In 2018 the campaign received £400,000 from the billionaire George Soros’s Open Society Foundation. [See footnote]

The news about the unregistered voters came as Guy Verhofstadt, the European parliament’s Brexit negotiator and a bete noire of leading leave supporters, said he planned to campaign in Britain in the run-up to the elections.

The former Belgian prime minister said he would seek to rally the “quiet pro-EU majority” in British politics to register to vote and have their voices heard on 23 May.

Verhofstadt said he regretted the decision last month by the EU27 to potentially extend the UK’s membership up to 31 October as it “postpones a decision, whether that is the agreement of a withdrawal agreement, a revocation, or putting the issue back to the people, and distracts Europe from addressing other challenges like migration”.

“My fear is that nationalists and populists across Europe are using the Brexit distraction, a catfight in the Tory party that got out of control, to further undermine the EU,” he said.

But Verhofstadt said his focus, if the Brexit deal was not approved by MPs before 23 May and European elections were then held, would be to encourage the millions of potential voters to join the electoral roll.

He said he was determined to highlight the risks posed by the attempts by Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, to build a populist front in the parliament with the help of Italy’s far-right deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini.

“People often feel voting is pointless or politics isn’t for me, but this time it really matters as the European project is at a crossroads,” Verhofstadt said. “If European elections do go ahead in the UK, it is imperative pro–Europeans come out and vote, as it will be elsewhere across Europe.”

The 66-year-old, who was the Belgian PM between 1999 and 2008, added: “The message I will be taking with me to London on my visit is that the voice of the quiet pro–European majority must be heard. The politicians might be wasting the article 50 extension, but people must not.

“There is a danger that Steve Bannon’s far-right coalition of hate, under Matteo Salvini and possibly involving Nigel Farage’s Brexit party, could be able to undermine efforts to renew Europe and the fight for enhanced rights for EU citizens.”

Verhofstadt plans to campaign on the streets of London, and meet Belgians living in the UK. The veteran MEP is also likely to appear alongside Vince Cable, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, whose party is a member of Verhofstadt’s liberal group in the European parliament.

But Verhofstadt’s decision to enter the British campaign also offers the prospect of a rerun in the UK of his regular European parliament clashes with Farage. Verhofstadt has regularly criticised Farage’s failure to do any work during his time as an MEP.

Play Video 1:18 Guy Verhofstadt compares Nigel Farage to Blackadder character – video

“As I have repeatedly highlighted, as far back as 2011, Mr Farage has one of the poorest attendance records in the European parliament,” Verhofstadt said. “It is a mystery to me why anyone would re-elect him knowing this.”

The European elections will take place between 23 and 26 May. A total of 751 members of the European parliament represent more than 512 million people from 28 member states.

• This article was updated on 1 May 2019 to note that Gina Miller left Best for Britain in 2017. A representative also stated on behalf of Gina Miller that “during her time founding and leading Best for Britain, no donations came from Mr Soros”: funding came from the British public.