Some 770,000 potential voters fell off the electoral register on the national transition to Individual Electoral Registration (IER), figures have revealed.

In the first official analysis of registration since removal of the household-based system, data from the Electoral Commission has shown the electorate in Wales fell by 5%, England 3% and Scotland 2% following the December 1 changeover.

The Government decided to bring forward its switch to IER from the original December 2016 transition date despite protests from groups including the Electoral Reform Society that the speed risked ‘excluding' as many as 1.9m people from voting.