A drive for people to register to vote has begun across west London, with an estimated 800,000 said to have been left off the electoral register after a Tory shake up of voting rules.
MPs across west London, including Hammersmith MP Andy Slaughter slammed the government following news that changes in the electoral registration system have led to thousands of voters in Hammersmith dropping off the register.
A new system of "individual sign ups" means thousands of voters are no longer on the lists.
The Labour MP said: “These ill thought out and rushed changes to the electoral registration system mean that thousands of voters in Hammersmith have fallen off the register and may not even realise it.
"This is very troubling as we have the huge London Mayoral elections coming up soon on May 5.”
He added: "Londoners also have a massive choice as to whether to remain part of the European Union or not.
"That's why to mark this week's National Voter Registration Drive I am urging everyone to check that are you registered to vote."
Lack of student voters
The 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.
But analysis carried out by the Labour party revealed the high figures of voters that have been left off, with university areas to be prime places for particularly high drop-off rates.
Labour’s Shadow Minister for Young People and Voter Registration, MP Gloria De Piero, has written to Minister John Penrose to urge the government make it a priority students are given the opportunity to register to vote upon enrolment.
She said: “About 800,000 people are missing from the electoral register. The government ignored independent warnings not to rush through individual electoral registration (IER), and now it appears that students are a casualty of their hasty changes.”
In her letter, she said educational institutions should follow the lead of Sheffield University's opt-in initiative, where 67% of students were registered.
She wrote: "I write to you today to call for official guidance to be issued to every vice chancellor in the country about how they can adopt the Sheffield model in their universities for next year's enrolment.
"This would be an important step forward in rectifying the big drop in student registration and representation resulting from the government's rushed changes to voter registration."
The Shadow Minister is calling for universities and colleges to offer electoral registration when students first enrolled for courses.
This week marks the beginning of National Voter Registration Drive week ahead of local and Mayoral elections for 2016.
