The former Wiltshire County Council and Swindon Borough Council are among local authorities identified by Big Brother Watch as having sold people’s names and addresses to different companies and individuals over a five year period.
Freedom of Information Act requests made by Big Brother Watch have revealed that more than 300 councils across the UK have sold the edited electoral register to estate agents, lobbyists, driving schools, insurance companies, pizza parlours and others.
Wiltshire County Council sold details to four individual purchasers for just £21.50 a time for 1,000 names and Swindon Council made £453 selling information to four individual purchasers over a five-year period.
And that is one major reason why so much junk mail can be delivered to your home without your approval.
Big Brother Watch has called on the government to abolish the edited electoral register but, if it is to be retained, urging the Cabinet Office to allow councils to include a permanent opt-out option on the electoral registration form signed by residents.
“Registering to vote is a basic part of our democracy and should not be a back door for our names and addresses to be sold to anyone and everyone,” declares Big Brother Watch director Nick Pickles.
“Many people don’t realise the pizza shops and estate agents drowning their doorsteps with junk mail are able to do so because their local council is forced to sell the names of every voter who fails to tick the right box when they register to vote.
“The edited register is a pointless waste of council time, undermines trust in the electoral system and contributes to huge volumes of junk mail. It should be abolished.”
A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government pointed out: “It is completely unacceptable for councils to be profiting in this way. Junk mail is a menace and councils should be looking at ways to make sensible savings and not taking advantage of voters.”
Target date set for opening of Marlborough’s new primary school
