The spokesperson added that “the vast majority of voters have cast their votes successfully”.

The laws were passed in 2022 and came into effect in 2023. They were first used in a handful of local elections last year, but Thursday was the first time they’d been implemented in the London mayoral election – where 6.2 million are registered to vote – and in several major councils throughout regional England.

People can apply for a proxy to go to the ballot box on their behalf in limited circumstances, including if they are away on polling day, are a registered overseas voter or have a medical issue or disability.

Independent analysis of last year’s May council elections found that 0.25 per cent of voters who tried to vote at a polling station were unable to because of the voter ID requirement, equivalent to about 14,000 people.

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It also found that about 4 per cent of non-voters said they did not vote because of the ID requirement. An Electoral Commission report, produced in September 2023, confirmed its interim findings that some people found it harder than others to show accepted voter ID, including disabled people, younger voters, people from ethnic minority communities, and the unemployed.

Local elections were held across 107 English councils, including 31 metropolitan boroughs, 18 unitary councils and 58 district councils and in 11 mayoral elections, including a contest for mayor of London, as well as elections to the London Assembly, with 25 seats available.

With a general election looming, the results will be viewed through a national prism, with a bad result for the ruling Conservative Party likely to cause great concern and more leadership speculation for Sunak.

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