A West Yorkshire MP has described the voter ID programme as a “draconian, authoritarian attack” on voting.

Labour Party MP for Leeds East, Richard Burgon, has hit out at new photo ID laws for those voting in person during England’s local elections next month.

Voters in Bradford are among those affected and there are signs across the district reminding people of the change.

Mr Burgon said: "Young people, people with English as a second language and black and minority ethnic communities have all been disproportionately affected.

“It’s a deliberate voter suppression strategy.”

Mr Burgon joined Baroness Jenny Jones and other opposition MPs and campaigners to deliver a petition to Downing Street, as well as a letter for the Prime Minister, on Wednesday, calling on the Government to “urgently scrap” new compulsory rules for those voting in person during England’s local elections next month.

Those turning up at polling stations will be required to show a form of photo identification, such as a passport, driving licence or blue badge.

Baroness Jones, a Green Party peer, said: “The Government has actually perpetrated voter fraud.

“They have pushed through a Bill that is going to prevent certain groups, particularly younger people, from voting.

“It’s obvious that a lot of people still don’t know what’s happening, and the Government has been extremely slow to explain it.

“All in all, this is a disaster for democracy.”

The organisers of the petition, which has over 100,000 signatures, include campaign groups Unlock Democracy, the Electoral Reform Society, Open Britain and Fair Vote UK.

They have described the scheme as an unnecessary expenditure that will disenfranchise certain groups of voters.

They also claim it has been poorly implemented, meaning “hundreds of thousands of people” risk being turned away at the polls on May 4.

Representatives of campaign groups were joined by for Mr Burgon, Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland Alistair Carmichael and Green Party MP for Chesham and Amersham Sarah Green to hand the petition to 10 Downing Street.

Polling suggests that older white voters are more likely to vote Tory than young or black and ethnic minority members of the electorate.

Mr Carmichael dismissed the suggestion that requiring photo ID at the polls is necessary to prevent voter fraud, stating: “It is a solution in search of a problem. We have no historic problem with voter impersonation in this country.”

Meanwhile, director of Unlock Democracy Tom Brake criticised the cost of the scheme, which the Government predicts will add £180 million to the cost of running elections over the course of a decade.

He said: “At a time when the country is really struggling financially, it is impossible to justify spending this amount of money on something which is unnecessary.”

The Bafta Award-winning creator of The Thick Of It, Armando Ianucci, has also thrown his weight behind the campaign opposing voter ID laws.

He described the scheme as “highly suspicious” and predicted “millions” will be unable to vote in local elections as a result.

He told the PA news agency: “It reinforces the notion that taking part in an election is getting more complicated, just as we are trying to engage people in politics. This is not the way to go.”

The voter ID rules apply to England as of the May 4 local elections and will come into force for UK general elections from October.

More than 8,000 council seats in England are up for grabs on May 4 across 230 local authorities, ranging from small rural areas to some of the largest towns and cities.

Polls are also taking place to choose mayors in Bedford, Leicester, Mansfield and Middlesbrough.

There are no contests in London and Birmingham, along with other areas including Cornwall, North Yorkshire and Cumbria.

The Government has launched a Voter Authority Certificate (VAC) scheme to enable those without a valid form of photo ID to vote at the polls on May 4. The deadline for applying is Tuesday April 25 at 5pm.

As of Wednesday, the number of people who have applied for a VAC is 69,852. This falls far short of the Government’s estimate of around 4% of the population, equating to 2.1 million people, who do not have a valid form of photo ID.